Gov. Nathan Deal tapped new leaders on Monday to three senior administration positions after the head of an agency’s departure triggered a domino effect of staff appointments.

The governor recommended that Christopher Nunn serve as the new head of the Department of Community Affairs. He will succeed Camila Knowles, who is leaving for a job with Cornerstone Government Affairs at the end of the month.

Nunn was previously head of the Department of Administrative Services, and Deal recommended that Shawn Ryan fill that position. Ryan is now president of the Georgia Student Finance Commission and his wife, Jennifer Talaber Ryan, is also a top Deal aide.

Shawn Ryan’s old gig would be filled by Caylee Noggle, who is now the commission’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer.

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Election signs for Marqus Cole and Akbar Ali are shown outside of a voting precinct at the Praise Community Church in Lawrenceville, during the state house runoff in District 106, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (Jason Getz/AJC)

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Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

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