Avondale Estates DDA Board Members

Dave Deiters, Chair

Dave Deiters and his wife Susie have lived in Avondale Estates for nearly three decades where they raised their two children Maggy and David.

Dave was a management and business strategy consultant for 35 years. He retired from global consultancy North Highland as president in 2015 and is now the Executive Director of the Jones MBA Career Center at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business. Dave has his dream job helping Georgia Tech’s MBA graduates find THEIR dream jobs. Dave graduated from Georgia Tech where he played on the golf team and met his bride-to-be Susie, an Agnes Scott College alumna.

Dave and Susie are longtime members of St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Decatur where Dave served on its Parish Council, Finance Committee, STM School PTO President and co-chaired several capital campaigns. Dave and Susie are members of the Avondale Community Club and the Swim & Tennis Club and feel grateful to live in such a wonderful city of neighbors.

Contact Dave.

Leigh Lynch, Vice Chair

Leigh Lynch is owner of Origins Homegrown Team Real Estate located in downtown Avondale Estates. “I love being able to work out of an office in the town I live.” She has enjoyed success at Origins Real Estate achieving the pinnacle award for sales volume five years in a row.

Leigh has been a part of the Avondale community for more than 14 years. She has enjoyed coaching basketball at The Museum School and wouldn’t miss participating in the annual Fourth of July parade.

Contact Leigh.

Walter Barineau

Walter and his wife Karen have lived in the Avondale Estates area for 15+ years. Walter is a licensed real estate agent and a real estate director for Waffle House, Inc. and has worked in the real estate industry for over 23 years. Some of his achievements include developing the first LEED Certified Best Buy in the United States, developing over 100 Waffle House restaurants in 14 states and consistently meeting or exceeding production goals. He brings a mix of financial analysis, development strategy and general real estate and construction knowledge to the Avondale Estates Downtown Development Authority. Walter understands the many attributes that Avondale Estates has to offer and will work hard to see that those attributes are maximized to the benefit of the surrounding community.

Karen and Walter enjoy traveling and listening to live music. Walter also enjoys golf, exercising, hiking and visiting the many restaurants and breweries in the Avondale Estates area.

Contact Walter.

Jennifer Joyner

Jennifer Joyner started five & two company in 2010 after searching for a perfect work/life balance. After a 12 year career in retail account management, she tapped into the social media communication craze and began working with local businesses looking to grow their online presence. Through word of mouth, Jennifer expanded her business and now keeps busy promoting local and national brands.

Born and raised in New York, Jennifer has made Atlanta her home since 1993. Her husband Mark is the principal at Druid Hills High School and her daughters Natalie and Kate are students at The Museum School where she is an active volunteer.

Contact Jennifer.

Andrew Rutledge

New board member 2024 – bio to come.

Contact Andrew

Lisa Shortell

Lisa is a native Oregonian who made her way to the east coast via college (Swarthmore) and graduate school (Emory). She taught at the Paideia School and Arbor Montessori School and, more recently, tutored children in various subjects and test prep.

Lisa and her husband Greg have been active and involved members of the community for nearly 30 years. Their two children Paul and Molly were born and raised in Avondale. You may see Lisa walking, running or biking through the neighborhood or working in the garden of their home.

Over the years, Lisa became interested in city government and development. She participated in several city planning workshops and processes. In addition, she and several other residents founded the citizen advocacy group Second Century Avondale promoting a bike and pedestrian friendly downtown that reflects Avondale’s character and identity. Lisa was elected to the Board of Mayor and Commissioners in 2018 and serves as the BOMC liaison on the DDA.

Contact Lisa.

Tom Trocheck, Treasurer

Tom Trocheck and his wife Kathy moved to their first home on Kensington Road in Avondale Estates in 1983, and after a brief hiatus in Raleigh, moved back to Avondale Estates. The Trochecks raised their children Katie and Andy in Avondale and now Katie and her husband Mark Abel are raising Molly and Griffin, a third generation of Avondale kids.

After receiving a B.A. in Government from Florida State University, Tom received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech and is a Registered Professional Engineer (inactive). 

Tom has over four decades of experience in design, construction, development and acquisitions of real estate projects. This includes single and multi-family residential, retail, office, mixed use, commercial and industrial projects. He currently maintains, on a part time basis, a real estate consulting practice Berkeley Real Estate Advisors. 

The Trochecks are members of the Avondale Swim and Tennis Club where Tom is a fixture on the tennis courts and the Avondale Community Club where Tom is a past president of the board of directors. He is a past chairman of the Historic Preservation Commission. In addition to tennis, he is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys fly fishing and quail hunting. If he’s not on the tennis courts or fishing, you can find him gardening or tackling his never-ending list of home improvement projects in Avondale and Tybee Island.

Contact Tom.