Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital
As a true not-for-profit health system, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital is operated by a volunteer board drawn from the community it serves. They serve without pay, volunteering time and expertise. They set policy, create goals, evaluate management’s performance, and ensure Phoebe operates in the best interest of the community. Below you can learn more about our volunteer governing board members for Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital.
Marvin B. Laster | Chairman
Marvin B. Laster is an honor graduate of Albany State University and an honor graduate of Mercer University’s Stetson School of Business and Economics. Marvin is the owner of Legacy Construction + Consulting, LLC and the former Chief Executive Officer for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Albany.
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Before moving back to Albany in 2015, he held several leadership positions at Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s national headquarters in Atlanta. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Albany State University Foundation and is President of the Albany Sertoma Club.
Karen Thornton| Vice Chairwoman
Karen Thornton is a business partner at Woodford Plywood, Inc. and is a former member of the SB&T Board of Directors.
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She has served on Deerfield-Windsor’s board, finance committee and executive committee. She is the mother of three children.
Tiera Barron, MD
Tiera Barron was raised in Atlanta, Georgia and obtained her undergraduate degree in 2008 from Hampton University.
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She completed her medical education in 2013 at the Medical College of Georgia. She went on to Phoebe Family Medicine Residency for her post-graduate training where she served as a Chief Resident from 2015-2016. Upon her residency graduation, she joined the faculty at Phoebe Family Medicine Residency, where she currently serves as Associate Program Director. She and her husband, James, have two children and a spoiled English Bulldog.
Frank Griffin
Frank Griffin is a lifelong resident of southwest Georgia and is employed at Flint Community Bank.
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He holds a B.A. in Political Science from GSW in Americus and is an alumnus of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. He has served on numerous community boards, including the Lee County and Albany Area Chambers of Commerce and Albany Technical College. A dedicated advocate for education, he spent 17 years on the Lee County Board of Education and now represents District 2 on the Georgia State Board of Education. He is also Chairman of the Community Bankers Association of Georgia and a board member for the local Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Frank and his wife, Ashley, have been married for 26 years and are members of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, GA.
Derek Heard, MD
Derek Heard, MD has been a part the medical community in this area for 16 years.
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He currently is a primary care physician and the Phoebe Physicians Medical Director of Primary Care. He served as the Chairman of the Southwest Georgia Diabetes Coalition and was named the 2017 Phoebe Physician of the Year.
Pamela Jackson
Pamela Jackson is the Community Plans and Liaison Officer at Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany.
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Founder and CEO of The Youth Becoming Healthy Project, Inc., she is involved in many community organizations, including executive board member of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce, past president of Turner Job Corps Center Community Relations Council, past Strive to Thrive board member and volunteer tutor for Lee County Minority Female Mentoring Program.
Dr. James “Eddie” Black, MD
Dr. James “Eddie” Black, an Albany native, is currently Medical Director and Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Phoebe.
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He is Assistant Professor of Clinical Studies for Emergency Medicine for Georgia Health Sciences University and Medical Director for Dougherty County EMS, Lee County EMS, MCLB and Darton College Regional EMS programs. Dr. Black graduated from Albany State University Cum Laude with a bachelor of science degree in chemistry. He has an MBA from Auburn University and a medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He is a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Naval Reserves and a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians. He currently serves as the Chief of Staff for the Medical Executive Committee.
Jay McAfee, MD
Jay McAfee, MD is a board-certified radiation oncologist and partner with Radiation Oncology Associates.
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He is Medical Director of the department of radiation oncology at the Phoebe Cancer Center, where he serves as Cancer Liaison Physician for the Commission on Cancer. Jay was born at PPMH and raised in Albany.
Chinyelu Ofodile, DO
Chinyelu Ofodile, DO – affectionately known as Dr. Chi Chi – joined the Phoebe Family as a hospitalist in 2012. She currently serves as Assistant Director of Inpatient Medicine Services and joined the PPMH Board of Directors in 2024.
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Dr. Ofodile graduated from Valdosta State University before earning her medical degree from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Suwanee, Georgia. She completed her residency at Virginia Tech Carilion Internal Medicine Program in Roanoke, Virginia. She and her husband, Chu Ofodile, have four daughters.
Jenny Savelle
Jenny Savelle is CEO of Bishop Clean Care, Inc.
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She currently serves on the board of AB&T. In the past, she has served as Chair of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce and Treasurer of the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission. She and her husband, Jud, have three children.
Scott Steiner
Scott Steiner joined the Phoebe family in March, 2019.
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He previously served as CEO of four Tenet hospitals in Detroit, MI. He began his career in healthcare administration as Director of Physician Network & Development for a hospital in East St. Louis, IL in 1992. Scott and his wife, Tracy have two daughters. Scott is a member of the Phoebe Health System, Phoebe Hospital, Phoebe Sumter, Phoebe Worth, Phoebe Health Ventures and Phoebe Physicians Boards.
Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb has been farming in Leary, Georgia since 1986, and has been involved in the southeastern as well as the national agriculture industry.
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He currently serves on many agricultural boards across the country, including Flint River Water Planning and Policy Center as treasurer, Georgia Delegate to the National Cotton Council, UGA Dean’s Advisory Council, Georgia Cotton Commission and others. Currently he is Vice-Chair of the Cotton Board.
