Quick Wiki
- Full Name Gabriel Sterling
- Occupation Politician, Elections Official
- Nationality American
- Birthplace Decatur, Georgia, USA
- Birth Date !970 (Exact birthdate not disclosed)
Gabriel Sterling | Biography
Interim Director Professional Licensing Board at Georgia Secretary of State Since February 2021Gabriel Sterling has been employed at the Georgia Secretary of State under various capacities since 2019. From January 2019 to November 2019, he was its chief operating officer, and from 2019 to 2020, he was a full-time voting system implementation manager there. In addition, he has been functioning as its chief operating officer/chief financial officer since January 2021 and as an interim director at Professional Licensing Board since February 2021.
Gabriel Sterling is an American politician who has been working at the Georgia Secretary of State under various capacities since 2019.
Who Is Gabriel Sterling?
Gabriel Sterling is an American politician. He holds diverse titles as a congressional staffer, a political consultant, a marketing professional, a Sandy Springs City Council member, and several positions within the Georgia Secretary of State's office. Furthermore, he was enthusiastic about participating in election-related campaign gigs from a very young age. His early political experiences entail his engagement in Bart Ladd's State House campaign, Bush/Quayle presidential campaign, Coverdell for US Senate campaign, Norwood for Congress campaign, and many more.
Early Life and Education
Sterling was born in Decatur, Georgia, to a liberal artist mother and a conservative business person father. However, he is loyal to Republican ideologies since the early age of nine. "I was nine years old and wanted Reagan to beat Carter," said Sterling. His parents are divorced.
He grew up in Atlanta's downtown area before moving to Sandy Springs for high school. He completed his high school studies at Riverwood High School in 1988. After that, he furthered his academics in political science at the University of Georgia and earned his bachelor's degree in the subject in 1993. He was a part of the College Republicans at the University of Georgia. He worked on political campaigns ranging from Bart Ladd's state House campaign to George H. W. Bush's presidential election campaign to Charlie Norwood's candidacy for US Congress.
Internship
His initial work experience involves his affiliation with BioLab, Inc. as an intern Technical Solution Specialist for three months in 1987 (June to August) and 1988 (June to August). He next interned at The Leadership Institute for three months, from June to August 1989. There, he assembled data to scrutinize Corporate PAC giving to liberal and conservative candidates and assisting in the organization of conservative student training in Washington and around the United States.
Sterling was also an intern at the Georgia Republican Party from August to December 1990. He oversaw in-house telemarketing fundraising and assisted in the party's redistricting efforts, including managing map drawing software and the triumphant Gingrich recount effort.
Marketing
From 1989 to 1990, Sterling worked in sales at Birchmore Pool and Spa. Furthermore, he has been the owner of Elbow Bend Brewing& BBQ since October 2016. In 2002, he became the Director of Marketing/Sales Representative of Girvan, Inc for about four months. He was fully accountable for all legal strategies and negotiated and planned all vendors purchasing accords for a $10 million-plus business. During that short stint, he operated as the company's regulatory compliance officer and managed the Southeastern sales region, which included over 50 customers and $1 million in revenue.
Sterling then landed the position as the president of The Sterling Advisory Group, Inc. from 1996 to 2005. He oversaw company clients ranging in size from $1 million to $125 million. In addition, he provided general consulting services in various areas, including asset value, operational effectiveness, transactional error minimization, brand image, stock management, regulatory requirements, human resources, proprietary information, and many others.
In 2002, he was named president/CEO of Sterling Seasonal Home, Inc, which he held until 2007. There, he founded a chemical repacking company that produced pool chemicals for consumer usage, built a brand and all marketing materials, and secured seed funding.
Campaign Gigs and Participation
Sterling worked as a campaign coordinator for Bart Ladd's State House campaign for five months in 1990 (April to August). In the following year, he scored the administrative role of executive director at Recall Lomax, where he worked for three months (August to October). While in the job, he oversaw the Fulton County Commission Chairman Lomax's day-to-day activities, designed all campaign literature from bumper stickers to mass mailings, and directed all local leaders in North-South Fulton County.
Similarly, Sterling was a primary Georgia-based Political Director for the Bush/Quayle presidential campaign from January to March 1992. He was in charge of the Bush campaign's political activity in Georgia alongside organizing 159 county chairman, assisting in media purchase, triangulating opponent visits, and arranging all candidate and dignitary visits - some with 45,000+ guests in a short amount of time. He worked for the same Bush/Quayle campaign but as a general Georgia-focused Political Director from August to November 1992.
Additionally, he was designated as the first district/coastal coordinator for the Coverdell for US Senate campaign in November 1992. From 1993 to 1995, he was the campaign manager for the Norwood for Congress campaign. He handled all parts of Dr. Charlie Norwood's campaign, including direct reports, collaboration with state and national organizations, fundraising plans, media relations, campaign budgeting, candidate time management, polling coordination, and voter contact. The campaign saw him win 65 percent of the vote in the general election and steered Dr. Norwood to a walk victory in the primary runoff over a two-time nominee.
After this, he worked as a legislative assistant in Congressman Charlie Norwood's office from 1995 to 1996, where he helped negotiate elements of the Freedom to Farm Act and Superfund reauthorization. He represented the Norwood office at the Statehouse in a special session and managed social security, taxes, the federal budget, military affairs, agriculture, and the environment.
Executive Roles
He was an acting president at Sterling Political Consulting in 1996. There, he managed campaign budgets, time allocation, strategy, theme, press relations, media production, and fundraising for state-level elections in Georgia from the primary through the general election.
From 2006 to 2011, he was the vice-chairperson of the Sandy Springs Hospitality and Tourism Board. He served as vice president of Landmark Communications of Georgia, Inc. from 2005 to 2012. Subsequently, he served as the councilman on the Sandy Springs City Council from 2011 to 2018. From 2012 to 2019, he was the president of SSH, Inc. Additionally, he provided strategic business counseling, political and public relations advice, and advertising materials and technology for direct consumer/voter engagement.
From 2019 to 2020, he functioned as the vice-chairman of Heritage Sandy Springs. In addition, from 2012, he holds the designation of vice-chairman at Sandy Springs Development Authority.
Major Political Ventures
From 2019 until the present, Sterling holds the designation of a board member at the Sandy Springs Conservancy Inc. In addition, he has been working as the chairman of the Finance Committee of Beltline Tax Allocation District Advisory Committee (TADAC). At the City of Sandy Springs, he has been active as chairman of the Charter Review Commission since 2021.
He has been employed at the Georgia Secretary of State under various capacities since 2019. From January 2019 to November 2019, he was its chief operating officer, and from 2019 to 2020, he was a full-time voting system implementation manager there. In addition, he has been functioning as its chief operating officer/chief financial officer since January 2021 and as an interim director at Professional Licensing Board since February 2021.
Death Threats
Sterling has coordinated many election campaigns for Republican candidates since he was young. However, when it came to the 2020 presidential election, where former US President Trump ran for the Republican Party and lost to Democrat Joe Biden, Sterling chastised Trump for his deceptive effort to reverse an election he lost. Because of the criticism, Sterling received death threats through many portals. He also got text messages that instructed him to keep his eyes open while sleeping. Another such message encouraged him to take his own life. Moreover, he discovered his name on a website that dictated the president's alleged foes, with his face in the crosshairs of a rifle. As a result, his home had to be guarded by the police.
