Angela Speir Phelps, Executive Director and Senior Director of the Consumer Energy Program aspeir@georgiawatch.org
In 2002, Angela Speir Phelps became the first woman elected to the Georgia Public Service Commission and the second Republican woman elected to a statewide office in Georgia history. A Georgia native, Angela grew up in Dekalb County and graduated from Agnes Scott College with a B.A. in Biology. She is also a graduate of CEO International.

After graduation from Agnes Scott, Angela served as the Assistant Administrator of the medical complex at the United Methodist Children’s Home providing medical aid and counseling to abused children. She first ran for public office in 1992 as a candidate for the Georgia State Senate.

Angela’s victory in 2002, winning the statewide election to the Commission, led to many victories for consumers. She championed fairness, transparency, and accountability while serving on the Commission. She fought for open government and passed an “ex parte” rule to prohibit private conversations between commissioners and utility lobbyists. Angela’s efforts on behalf of the people of Georgia have been recognized in many publications across the country and she has been awarded numerous distinctions and honors for her service to the people of Georgia. Georgia Trend magazine recognized Angela as one of their 100 Notable Georgians. She received the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Hero of Open Government Award and has been named one of Georgia’s Most Influential Women by the Georgia Informer. Angela was recognized by WSB as a “Political Role Model” for her ethics, integrity, and dedication to Georgia. The Council on Aging awarded her their Community Service Award for her efforts on behalf of senior adults. Angela is also the 2009 recipient of the Common Cause Democracy Award. The award is given in honor of her noble service and fight for good government.

On January 1, 2009, Angela joined the team at Georgia Watch – in July she became the group’s executive director. She also serves as the senior director of the Consumer Energy Program.

“Georgia Watch’s Phelps builds legacy of service,” Atlanta Business Chronicle, December 4, 2009.

Danny Orrock, Deputy Director
dorrock@georgiawatch.org
Danny Orrock is an Atlanta native and a product of Georgia’s public education system. He graduated from Georgia Tech in 2001 with a B.S. in history, technology and society and received his law degree from the Georgia State College of Law in 2010. He has worked in public policy for nearly a decade and has been a registered lobbyist during the Georgia General Assembly for the past eight sessions. In 2003, he became the second employee for Georgia Watch, which was founded just a year earlier. Danny took on the role of deputy director in July of 2009 and serves as the organization’s voice at the Capitol, educating legislators and advocating for consumers. In his spare time Danny enjoys throwing Frisbee, playing cards, swimming and cheering on the Georgia Tech basketball team.

Holly Lang, Hospital Accountability Project Director
hlang@georgiawatch.org
Holly Lang was born and raised in the small town of Guyton, Ga, located about 35 miles outside of Savannah. She attended Georgia State University studying philosophy and print journalism, and worked for a variety of publications, including the Birmingham Post-Herald. As a journalist, she has worked internationally and won several industry awards. In addition, she works with several other publications as a contributing editor and writer. At Georgia Watch, Holly researches state hospitals and their indigent and charity care policies, authoring reports on those findings, and she heads up the group’s Metropolitan Atlanta Hospital Accountability Project.

Clare McGuire, Senior Counsel and Director of the Consumer Energy Program
cmcguire@georgiawatch.org
Born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx, Clare moved to Georgia in 1989 to attend Emory Law School. She holds a B.S. in economics with a minor in philosophy from Manhattan College, from which she graduated Magna Cum Laude. After finishing law school, Clare’s career began in Savannah at the District Attorney’s Office. She then moved back to Atlanta to work for the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs. In 2002, Clare was assigned to the Consumers’ Utility Counsel, where she began advocating for the state’s utility customers. Three years later, she was hired as a staff attorney with the Georgia Public Service Commission. As a staff attorney at several of Georgia’s regulatory bodies for almost two decades, Clare has garnered a vast working knowledge of the bureaucratic process that occurs within the state’s utility industry. And as an advocate fighting for fair procedure and equitable rates, Clare has represented the interests of approximately nine million Georgians.

In January 2010, Clare joined our watchdog team at Georgia Watch as the director of the Consumer Energy Program and senior counsel. At Georgia Watch, Clare works to give Georgians a voice in the energy debate by intervening in billion dollar rate cases that come before the PSC. Georgia Watch’s presence at these hearings will allow for more transparency and accountability at the commission.

Jonathan Shapiro, Communications Director
jshapiro@georgiawatch.org
A native Floridian, Jonathan graduated from Emory University in 2005 with a B.A. in political science. Before joining Georgia Watch, Jonathan worked at Atlanta’s NPR station, WABE, where he reported on a range of topics, including transportation, homelessness, immigration, and the state Supreme Court. He began his journalism career in Portland, Oregon, helping produce a public affairs program for Oregon Public Broadcasting and writing pieces for The Portland Mercury. Later he worked for a daily newspaper in north New Jersey, covering city politics, education, and crime. Before journalism, Jonathan taught social studies in New York City and worked at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Jonathan joined Georgia Watch as communications director in June of 2010.

Matt Bouillon, Court Watch Fellow
bouillon@bc.edu
Matt Bouillon graduated from the University of Georgia in 2004 with a bachelor’s in romance languages (he speaks Spanish, Italian and French) and received a Master Universitario degree in 2006 from L’Università degli Studi di Siena in Italy. He became interested in a legal career after working on philanthropic projects in Dakar, Senegal aimed at improving the rule of law in the West African subregion. He’s worked extensively in international human rights advocacy and recently as a criminal defense student-attorney under Georgia’s Third Year Practice Act. He is currently a visiting student at Emory Law School and will graduate from Boston College Law School in May of 2010. He came to Georgia Watch in the fall of 2009 as the organization’s Court Watch Fellow.