Leadership & Board

Sachin Shailendra is known for his integrity, honesty and commitment to client satisfaction. As President of SG Contracting, Inc., he governs the company’s activities, smoothly and efficiently matching people and projects to deliver successful outcomes. His extensive portfolio of construction experience and his ability to problem-solve and effectively communicate plans and processes make him a valuable leader to assist owners, subcontractors, architects and designers. Shailendra is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology and an alumnus of Woodward Academy, where he has also served as a former President of the Alumni Association and Member of the Advisory Council. He is currently the Chairman of the Rowen Foundation, a Trustee of the Atlanta History Center and The Georgia Research Alliance, a Member of the Carter Center Board of Councilors, Rotary Club of Atlanta, the Atlanta Police Foundation, Atlanta Speech School, and the former Chair of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents.

Ambrish Baisiwala brings over 27 years of global real estate experience to his role at Portman where he is responsible for the overall management and performance of the firm. His broad geographic and work exposure brings a strong corporate strategy and property development skill set to Portman.​

Prior to joining Portman, he was Development Director of ALDAR Properties PJSC in Abu Dhabi, UAE, where he was responsible for a development portfolio in excess of $20 billion. Earlier in his career, he was Development Manager for the Greater Union Organization for the Middle East and India. Prior to that, Ambrish held various senior positions with Coopers & Lybrand Consulting and the TATA Group. Ambrish has worked in the USA, China, India, the Middle East, South East Asia and Australia, across a broad spectrum of property types and responsibilities.​

Ambrish has a Bachelor of Commerce (Honors) degree from the University of Rajasthan, India, and an MBA from the Melbourne Business School, Australia. He is active in the community and participates on the boards of Central Atlanta Progress, Midtown Alliance, Atlanta Police Foundation, Leadership Atlanta, Atlanta Beltline Partnership, Piedmont Park Conservancy, and the Metro Atlanta Chamber.

Dr. Deborah Bruner is an internationally renowned researcher and clinical trialist. In addition to serving as the Senior Vice President for Research at Emory, she is also Professor and Robert W. Woodruff Chair in Nursing, Professor of Radiation Oncology, and a member and past associate director for mentorship at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory. She served as advisory board chair for the Emory University School of Nursing-Addis Ababa University (AAU) partnership and serves on dissertation committees for AAU nurses. She also serves on the board of the Center for Global Health Innovation and on the Georgia advisory committee of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. She has worked for almost three decades with the National Cancer Institute-sponsored National Clinical Trials Network and is the first and only nurse to ever lead a national clinical trials cooperative group. Dr. Bruner holds a Ph.D. in outcomes research from the University of Pennsylvania.

A passionate conservationist and lifelong Gwinnettian, Sam Hinton has spent much of his life tending to a diverse array of family and environmental interests. He has a history degree from Emory University and through the years, Sam has applied a historian’s curiosity and insight while managing a number of family enterprises, including timber, agriculture, cattle, and property management. Sam sees a disconnect between the average person and their understanding of the connection between the intricacies of the history of agriculture, food production, health and medicine and our environment and quality of life. He and his family hope to strengthen the historical ties between land use and agriculture for the next generation of Gwinnett County.  

More than a century ago, Sam’s grandparents, Dr. Samuel Locklin Hinton and Alice Stanley Hinton, originally assembled much of the land that comprises Rowen today. Sam represents the Hinton family on the board of the Rowen Foundation. Sam, along with his sisters, Alice Hinton and Martha Braumann, spent countless hours on and hold many memories of the property. They, along with Sam’s wife, Suzanne, and their children, Locklin, Caroline and Nathaniel, as well as Alice’s daughters, Lucy and Ann, have a vested interest in Rowen’s programmatic drivers of agriculture, medicine and the environment. They optimistically anticipate Rowen’s integration of these areas to enhance the quality of life for all.  

Dr. Jann L. Joseph has spent her career working to increase educational opportunities and student success. Dr. Joseph began her education career as a teacher of agricultural science in Trinidad and Tobago. She then earned her doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and went on to serve as executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, Division of Student Engagement and Success and then interim chancellor at the University of Indiana – South Bend. She has served as the president of Georgia Gwinnett College since 2019. She also currently serves as chair of the University System of Georgia Council on General Education and serves on the boards of the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education, Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Hispanic Chamber, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, Rainbow Village and The Water Tower at Gwinnett.

Bert Reeves has spent his early career serving the state of Georgia. Before accepting his current position as Vice President for Institute Relations at Georgia Tech, he served as attorney and law partner at the Marietta law firm Smith, Schnatmeier, Dettmering & Reeves, LLP and served seven years in the Georgia General Assembly in the House of Representatives. As a member of the Georgia General Assembly, he was awarded the Mack Henderson Public Service Award, recognizing an outstanding commitment and dedication to building a better quality of life for the citizens of Cobb County. As Georgia Tech VP for Institute Relations, he provides leadership for the Institute’s strategic external relations, including government and community relations, economic development and other external-facing areas.

 Dr. Scott-Johnson became provost and vice president of academic affairs at her alma mater, Spelman College, in August 2023. Prior to returning to Spelman, she held the same positions at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ. She is widely published in professional journals and has been a principal investigator for many research and program development grants, totaling more than $6 million. After achieving her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Spelman, she went on to earn a Master of Arts and Doctorate in Psychology and Neuroscience from Princeton University. In addition to her academic achievements, Dr. Scott-Johnson is a member of the American Psychological Association, Association of Heads of Psychology Departments (Board of Directors, 2007-2008), Project Kaleidoscope (National Advisory Board), Faculty for the 21st Century, Council of College of Arts and Sciences and the American Association of Colleges and Universities.