Meet Josh
Engineer. Husband. Father. Neighbor.
I’m Josh Tolbert, and I’m running for the Georgia Public Service Commission because our state deserves leaders who understand how our energy system actually works — inside real plants, real industries, and real communities. I’ve built my life and career around solving technical problems that keep people safe, keep businesses running, and keep energy systems reliable.
I’m not a politician. I’m an engineer, educator, expert witness, and small business owner with deep experience in the industries the PSC oversees — including nuclear power, coal, oil and gas, biomass, geothermal, and renewables, as well as major industrial facilities like pulp and paper mills, steel plants, chemical facilities, and manufacturing sites.
Georgia needs technical competence at the PSC. That has been the core of my entire career.
JOSH IS DEPENDING ON YOU
Will you contribute today to help us bring Josh’s solutions-focused voice to the Georgia Public Service Commission?
Career
Engineer.
I hold four engineering degrees, including a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, and I am a licensed Professional Engineer in multiple states. My engineering foundation is unusually broad — I grew up working in automotive repair, welding, fabrication, heavy equipment operation, and residential construction, learning practical problem-solving long before I earned my degrees.
As my career progressed, I gained substantial experience across energy and industry:
Power Generation Across Nearly Every Major Technology
I’ve worked in or supported facilities using:
Nuclear power
Coal-fired generation
Combined-cycle natural gas
Oil and gas systems
Biomass
Geothermal
Solar and other renewables
This includes system design, reliability analysis, safety evaluations, failure analysis, and operational support for real power plants — work that directly informs PSC decisions.
Industrial Site Expertise
I’ve worked extensively inside:
Pulp & paper mills
Steel and metals facilities
Chemical plants
Cement and industrial steam operations
Manufacturing plants
Automotive and transportation industries
District energy systems
I understand the challenges Georgia’s industries face because I’ve been inside their plants, diagnosing problems, designing solutions, and improving reliability.
Executive Experience in Advanced Nuclear
As Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Engineering for a small modular reactor company, I led multidisciplinary engineering teams, engaged directly with U.S. and international nuclear regulators, and oversaw system design, safety analysis, and commercial deployment strategies.
Educator and Communicator
I also served as an engineering professor at Kennesaw State University, where I taught thermodynamics, statics, manufacturing, machine tool, welding, and CAD. Teaching sharpened my ability to communicate complicated technical issues in ways people can understand — a critical skill for a PSC commissioner.
Expert Witness and Technical Investigator
For more than a decade, I have served as an expert witness in cases involving:
Industrial failures
Power equipment failures
Construction issues
Machinery incidents
Product liability
Catastrophic injury and safety matters
This work requires objectivity, clarity, and deep technical rigor — the same qualities needed to evaluate billion-dollar utility proposals.
Across every role — engineer, professor, expert witness, executive, and consultant — the lesson has been the same: real solutions depend on facts, data, and technical understanding. That is exactly what the PSC needs.
Family
Husband. Father.
My wife, Mary, and I are raising our five children in Cobb County. Like many Georgia families, we balance school, work, faith, and the everyday challenges of raising kids. Mary is also a civil engineer and small business owner, and our home is filled with conversations about problem solving, practicality, and responsibility.
We’ve been hands-on in our children’s education, including periods of homeschooling. I’ve taught high school math and physics, giving me a deep respect for teachers and the hard work they do every day.
Family shapes the way I see public service: focus on what matters, think long-term, act responsibly, and leave things better than you found them.
Service
Neighbor.
Several years ago, Mary and I founded UP Tutoring — a free program that continues to serve students in Cobb County. Many of the children we help come from families learning English or navigating financial challenges. Watching these students grow has been one of the highlights of our lives.
We are also active at The Square Church in Smyrna, where service, mentorship, and community involvement are central.
These experiences remind me that strong communities aren’t built by politics. They’re built by people who step up, take responsibility, and help their neighbors.
Candidate
Why I’m Running.
Georgia is entering a critical era for energy planning. Rising demand, rapid industrial expansion, large new data centers, supply-chain challenges, and evolving technologies mean the PSC will make decisions that shape reliability and affordability for decades.
The PSC needs someone who understands the engineering behind those decisions — someone who has actually worked in power plants, walked industrial floors, evaluated failures, led technical teams, and built solutions.
I’m running because Georgia families and businesses deserve a commissioner who will:
Protect ratepayers
Strengthen grid reliability
Demand transparency
Align risks appropriately
Make decisions based on facts, not politics
I bring real-world technical experience, a commitment to service, and a belief that Georgia’s energy future must be reliable, affordable, and responsible.
I’m ready to serve.
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Let’s bring practical leadership back to government, grounded in facts, guided by faith, and focused on people. Together, we can make Georgia stronger, more affordable, and full of opportunity for everyone who calls it home. Join Team Tolbert today!