Jack Acree: 1979 – 1993

Barbara Christmas Golden: 1993 – 2003

Allene Magill: 2003 – 2018

Craig Harper: 2018 – Present

Strong, long-term leadership that demonstrates a commitment to educators and their needs characterizes the four executive directors who have served PAGE in that role for more than 50 years. They have guided PAGE and its growth from humble beginnings with 432 members to about 93,000 in 2025.

Each executive director brought unique experiences, talents, and strategic direction to PAGE, holding fast to the founders’ guiding principles while also responding to the issues and needs of members during their era.

Jack Acree 1979 – 1993 (14 years)

PAGE was in operation for four years before Jack Acree was selected as the first full-time paid executive director of PAGE on July 1, 1979. Before that, the association was primarily operated through volunteers with direction by the PAGE president and the PAGE Board of Directors. Jack was a determined and tenacious veteran Georgia educator. He had worked with the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA), was well-connected politically, and a master of networking. PAGE leadership in its early years focused heavily on building a solid foundation through grassroots recruitment, strong legislative advocacy, and liability coverage. Acree hired Tom Wommack as the first director of legislative services in 1991, a position he held until retirement in 2012.

Barbara Christmas Golden 1993 – 2003 (10 years)

Barbara Christmas Golden continued those efforts with additional emphasis on positioning PAGE in the public eye as Georgia’s premier educator association. Under her direction, PAGE adopted the STAR (Student and Teacher Achievement Recognition) program and established the PAGE Foundation to provide scholarships and recognition. Barbara also hired the first staff attorney, Jill Hay, who is PAGE general counsel, director of legal services, and director of human resources. Legal services now boasts six full-time staff attorneys and about 40 network attorneys throughout Georgia

Allene Magill 2003 – 2018 (15 years)

Allene Magill continued the excellent work Barbara initiated while emphasizing the availability of no-cost, high-quality professional learning. She had a particular interest in helping educators and districts understand the special instructional needs of at-risk students and students of poverty. Both Barbara and Allene enjoyed extensive relationships with educational leaders in districts throughout Georgia, at state agencies, including the Georgia Department of Education, TRS (Teachers Retirement System of Georgia), and the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. Additionally, they developed relationships with governors, political leaders, and the business community, all for the purpose of advocating for issues that benefited students, educators. and public education.

Craig Harper 2018 – present (7 years to date)

Craig Harper initially focused on guiding PAGE through the emotional upheaval of Allene’s unexpected passing and ensuring there was no disruption to PAGE’s work. With full support of the PAGE Board of Directors and the long-time department leaders, despite heavy hearts, PAGE was able to continue its services, initiatives, and projects without losing momentum. Craig’s leadership centered around expanding opportunities for individual PAGE members to access PAGE benefits, quality of services across all departments, and restructuring several areas of work for more efficiency and effectiveness. To address increasing needs for legislative and education agency advocacy, the Legislative Services staff expanded to four people. Communications became a higher priority to broaden reach, increase member-focused content with more relevance to educators’ daily work in PAGE One magazine, and improve digital and print messaging support for all of PAGE’s services. Professional Learning was brought in-house with a priority for open access to all members and content addressing instructional and leadership strategies that benefit student learning. Although the pandemic made the transition to virtual sessions a necessity, providing an ongoing series of learning opportunities through virtual or in-person experiences had already begun. Two new member benefits began during the pandemic and will continue. PAGE Educator Grants of $500 per awardee began in 2021, with a commitment of $100,000 per year. PAGE Coaching – a 1 to 1 confidential professional coaching service – began in 2023.