The Atlanta BeltLine Partnership is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Bentina Chisolm Terry to its Board of Directors. Terry succeeds former board member Pedro Cherry who stepped down this year after being promoted to Executive Vice President of Customer Service at Georgia Power.
 
Terry is Senior Vice President for Georgia Power’s Metro Atlanta Region.  In this role, Terry is responsible for the company's operations, sales, customer service, economic and community development, and external affairs activities for 1.2 million customers across metro Atlanta.
 
Prior to returning to Georgia Power, she was Vice President, Customer Service and Sales for Gulf Power Company, a Southern Company subsidiary headquartered in Pensacola, Florida.  In this role, Terry was responsible for the company’s marketing, customer service and community and economic development organizations.  Her efforts involve serving the company’s 450,000 customers, strengthening the communities Gulf Power serves, helping its customers and communities grow and leading the company’s growth initiatives.  Terry also served as the Chair of the Gulf Power Foundation.
 
Terry began her career with Southern Company in 2001 at Georgia Power and progressed through leadership roles in compliance, ethics and power delivery including customer service, external affairs and customer operations. Other positions of note within Southern Company have included Vice President, External Affairs and Corporate Services for Gulf Power as well as Vice President – External Affairs, General Counsel, Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary for Southern Nuclear Operating Company, the subsidiary that operates Southern Company’s nuclear fleet. Prior to joining Southern Company, Terry served as Associate General Counsel for Progress Energy in Raleigh, NC.  She began her career practicing law as an associate with the Troutman Sanders law firm in Atlanta, Georgia.

A native of Fayetteville, N.C., Terry holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in English (cum laude) from North Carolina State University.  She is a member of the North Carolina State Bar and the Georgia State Bar, Leadership Atlanta, Leadership North Carolina, Leadership Florida, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.  She has received various awards and recognitions for her contribution to the state and northwest Florida including being named one of Influence Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in Florida Politics (2015), 850 Magazine’s Pinnacle Award (2014), Florida Chamber Foundation’s Chair Award (2014), the Pensacola Chamber of Commerce‘s Community Leader of the Year (2013), and one of the Florida Diversity Council’s Most Powerful and Influential Women (2012).  She has been selected as a member of the “IN Power List” recognizing the top 100 most powerful and influential people in greater Pensacola area for seven consecutive years (2009-2016) and was named #1 in April 2016. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Atlanta Police Foundation. She is married to Antonio Terry and they have two dogs.
                                               
“Bentina Terry is an outstanding addition to our Board of Directors,” said Dallas Clement, Chairman of the Board. “Bentina brings unique leadership experience and a deep passion for the Atlanta BeltLine to the role. We look forward to working with her as the Partnership continues to advance our efforts to raise funds and build partnerships that enable the Atlanta BeltLine project, engage the public, and empower residents in surrounding neighborhoods. We would also like to thank Pedro Cherry for his dedicated service on the Partnership’s Board of Directors.”