Jo Cooper, ’67

Profile

Josephine “Jo” Cooper, ’67, is CEO of Josephine Cooper LLC, a public affairs consulting firm which provides crisis management, public policy and communications services to companies, associations and individuals. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Beyond Strong Capital Campaign for Meredith College. Prior to founding the firm in 2011, Jo Cooper served for almost seven years as group vice president for public policy and government/industry affairs for Toyota North America and previously as CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Cooper led the public policy initiatives of Toyota and the auto industry.

Cooper also held leadership positions in other prominent trade associations – American Forest and Paper Association and the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association. She also worked on Capitol Hill and in key leadership posts at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Cooper serves on boards including the National Capital Region Salvation Army, Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, and WashingtonFirst Bank.

She has received numerous honors and awards, including Salvation Army’s Compassionate Citizen Award; Bryce Harlow Foundation Business Government Relations Award 2012; Automotive Hall of Fame Distinguished Service Citation, 2008; Automotive News Government Affairs All Star, 2007; one of the One Hundred Leading Women in the Automotive Industry, 2000; and one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington, 2001.

Ms. Cooper has a BA in Business from Meredith College and a Master’s in Business from Duke University.