Athens-Clarke County Unified Government Manager Bob Cowell announced on June 1 the appointment of Andrew Saunders as Deputy Manager in the Manager’s Office, effective June 8, 2026. Saunders has been serving as Interim Assistant Manager since July 22, 2024, and has nearly two decades of experience with ACCGov.
“Andrew has provided tremendous leadership over the past several years for some of the largest public-private partnerships in this community’s history during a great deal of change for ACCGov,” said Cowell. “He knows the operations of this government and our staff extremely well and will be an invaluable addition to aid the Manager’s Office and related departments on a number of upcoming high-profile complex projects and initiatives.”
Before his recent interim role, Saunders led ACCGov’s Central Services Department as Director and Interim Director from 2019 to 2024. The department oversees maintenance of county-owned property, manages most vehicles, maintains grounds at facilities and roadways, and provides support services such as mailing, printing, parking management, public safety communications via an 800 MHz system, and telecommunications.
Saunders said, “I am grateful to Manager Cowell for his confidence in me and for the opportunity to serve in this capacity. Having spent nearly 20 years with this organization, I have a deep appreciation for what we do and a genuine excitement about what we can accomplish together in this next chapter.”
Saunders also served as Interim Housing and Community Development Department Director during 2022-2023 before returning to Central Services in February 2023. He previously worked as Sustainability Officer when that office launched within the Manager’s Office from 2017-2019. Earlier roles included Community Forestry Coordinator and Environmental Coordinator within Central Services over ten years.
Saunders holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia (UGA) and is recognized as a Certified Public Manager through UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
The Manager’s Office is responsible for implementing all policies approved by the Mayor and Commission while overseeing day-to-day operations across county departments. For more information about these responsibilities or other administrative functions performed by ACCGov’s leadership team, visit www.accgov.com/manager.
Clarke County schools enrolled a total of 13,951 students in the 2022-23 school year; enrollment dropped by 0.2% compared to the previous year. Black students made up 45%, Hispanic students made up 27%, White students made up 21%, while multiracial students accounted for five percent of enrollment, according to the Georgia Department of Education.
