Leadership & Board

Mason is a trusted leader in the formation and stewardship of innovation districts, research parks, and mission-driven real estate developments. With 20 years’ experience working with higher education institutions, governments and industry, Mason has a track record of converging real estate, academia, and business to advance communities of innovation. In his role as President and Chief Executive Officer of Rowen, Mason is responsible for the real estate development, public-private-university partnerships, and investment activities of the 2,000-acre multi-use knowledge community ultimately comprising over 50 million square feet of space and housing over 80,000 employees.

Prior to leading Rowen, Mason served as the Vice President of Operations at The University Financing Foundation (TUFF), a non-profit financing organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, where he advised on a wide variety of local and international university projects managing assets in excess of $1.5 billion which include innovation districts such as Georgia Tech’s Tech Square in Midtown Atlanta and healthcare networks such as Northwell Health in Manhattan New York.

Prior to TUFF, Mason was the Chief Operating Officer at the Research Triangle Park Foundation (RTP) and led the organization’s business development, marketing, real estate, and partnership strategies. Responsible for leading the convergence of higher education institutions including three R1 universities, Historically Black College and University (HBCU), and two community colleges, Mason championed the redevelopment of RTP as an accessible research and innovation destination for North Carolina.

Mason is the Past President of the Association of University Research Parks (AURP), Co-Chairman of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) University Development & Innovation Council, Board Member of the University of Utah Research Foundation, Young Life International Partner, and Eisenhower Fellow to Sweden and Saudi Arabi. To contact Mason Ailstock, please email mason@rowenfoundation.org 

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.

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. S. Jack Hu is dedicated to the service of higher education. As Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at the University of Georgia, Dr. Hu oversees instruction, research, public service and outreach, and information technology. The vice presidents of these four areas, the deans of UGA’s 18 schools and colleges, and the campus dean of the Augusta University/UGA Medical Partnership, as well as several other vice provosts and associate provosts, all report to him. He is a UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor of Engineering, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Academies’ Transportation Research Board. Prior to his appointment at UGA in 2019, he served as Vice President for Research at the University of Michigan.

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.  

Arthur Tripp is a native Georgian and current Gwinnettian. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia, and he was named to UGA’s 40Under40 Class of 2015. He also served on the UGA School of Public and International Affairs Alumni Board of Directors, and as a board member for the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce. He is a graduate of the 2019 Class of Leadership Georgia and served as a Program Chair for the 2020 Class. Prior to his role as state executive director for the United States Department of Agriculture, he served as a UGA senior administrator in the office of the president and as district director for Georgia’s 7th Congressional District. He also served as the senior policy advisor to U.S. Congressman David Scott, current chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture. The relationships he formed during that time earned him recommendations from 13 Georgia agricultural groups for his nomination to the USDA.