Our Team

Dr. Joseph C. Richardson serves as Executive Director of the Middle Georgia Innovation Corridor as part of the Georgia Tech Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing (Georgia AIM) grant. In this role, he works with key mission partners to promote Middle Georgia’s value and establish the region as an innovation hub to attract new industry, businesses, workers, and families. He is an honorably retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel having served as an aircraft instructor and evaluator navigator/defensive systems officer onboard the KC-135, EC135, and E-8C JSTARS, completing over 3,500 flight hours with combat tours over the skies of Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He has taught at the technical college, undergraduate, and graduate degree levels and has held leadership positions at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Mercer Engineering Research Center, the Georgia VECTR Center, and Valencia College in Orlando, Florida where he served as Vice President of Student Affairs.

Dr. Richardson completed his undergraduate degree at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and received a master’s degree in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a master’s degree in Counseling from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. His Doctor of Philosophy degree is in Educational Leadership from Mercer University. Dr. Richardson has also completed the Harvard Graduate School Institute for Management and Leadership in Education and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with the Project Management Institute.

During his time in Georgia, Dr. Richardson has served on the Board of Directors for the Robins Regional Chamber of Commerce, Houston County Development Authority, and Warner Robins Convention and Visitors Bureau. He also served on the Board of Advisors for the Houston County Career Academy. While in Florida, Dr. Richardson served on the Board of Advisors for the Greater Orlando Sports Commission and the Board of Directors for Career Source of Central Florida. Currently, Dr. Richardson serves on the Board of Directors for the Heart of Georgia Hospice, the Robins Regional Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation, and is Chairman of the Technology and Entrepreneurship Advisory Board for the city of Perry, GA.

He and his wife Felicia (Kimes) from Omaha, Nebraska have been married for 29 years and are the proud parents of three wonderful children: son Ryan (deceased), daughter Lyndsay (28), and son Nathan (22). He enjoys reading, playing basketball, recording voiceovers and audiobooks, and competing with family and friends to maintain 10,000 steps/day on his pedometer.

Angie Gheesling has held the position of Executive Director for the Development Authority of Houston County, Georgia since 2012. She has more than twenty-five years of economic development experience in both state and local government, serving in both professional and volunteer roles. Angie worked under two state administrations as Director of the Regional Economic Development Program for the Georgia Department of Economic Development. She is an active member of the Georgia’s Economic Developers Association (GEDA), serving as past Chair for the organization and is a graduate of several Leadership Programs including, Leadership Georgia.

Over the past ten years, through championing existing industry expansions and locating new companies, the Development Authority of Houston County has supported investments totaling more than 1.6 billion dollars and the creation of over 4,000 industry jobs. Most recently, Houston County successfully located Jack Link’s production facility bringing $450,000,000 in investment and over 600 job opportunities to the region.

Angie was recently named one of the “State of Georgia’s Top 500 Most Influential Leaders” by Georgia Trend Magazine. In 2019, she was named one of “North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers.”

Angie is a true believer in regionalism and leads several significant regional efforts on behalf of 11 counties in Middle Georgia. One of these efforts, the Middle Georgia Innovation Corridor, is focused on elevating access to Industry 4.0 practices for existing industry and expanding access to STEM education across the region.