Dave Cooley
dcooley@cooleypublicstrategies.com

Cooley, a principal of Cooley Public Strategies, is a premier strategist with more than 20 years of experience in government, politics, and corporate and public affairs. Cooley launched the consultancy in January 2007 after his four-year term as deputy governor of Tennessee under Gov. Phil Bredesen and as the senior strategist in Bredesen's 2002 campaign, which saw the Democrat gain an important red-state victory.

As deputy governor, Cooley was the point person for a multitude of public policy initiatives, ranging from health care and homeland security improvements to education reforms. Also during his tenure, Cooley developed a national network of relationships with key elected officials, political operatives and public-sector managers across the United States. 

Prior to joining the Bredesen campaign and administration, Cooley was a principal at MP&F, where he led a wide array of health care, grassroots and public affairs campaigns from California to New Jersey. Cooley has provided strategic counsel on competitive positioning for clients including the Tennessee Titans, AT&T, Colonial Pipeline, HCA, Adelphia, Dell Computer, a consortium of 23 newspapers and publications and Wal-Mart.  Cooley also represented more than 30 community-based health care companies across the nation in defense of hostile takeovers.

A veteran of more than 100 political campaigns nationwide, Cooley has built a reputation as a focused strategist who understands the nuances of the ever-changing political and regulatory environment, the operational paradigms of federal, state and local government, and the shifting trends of the corporate marketplace.

Named one of the ‘100 Most Powerful People in Tennessee’ by Business TN magazine, Cooley is active in the community.  He holds leadership positions with the Harry S Truman Foundation, the Music City Bowl, Community Impact! Nashville, and the Nashville Sports Council.  Cooley was also selected as Tennessee Tech’s 1997 Outstanding Alumnus of the Year and has repeatedly been named one of the most powerful people in Nashville.

A native of Rockwood, Tenn., Cooley holds a bachelor's degree from Tennessee Technological University and a master's degree from the University of West Florida.

Emily Rosencranz Bryan
ebryan@cooleypublicstrategies.com

Bryan brings our clients the benefits of more than seven years of experience in government and politics.  She joined Cooley Public Strategies in August 2007 after serving as the director of Gov. Phil Bredesen’s inauguration. 

Prior to the inauguration, Bryan served as the scheduling director for Gov. Bredesen’s re-election campaign, after filling the same role for three years in the governor’s administration.  As the governor’s gatekeeper, Bryan developed a network of relationships with key leaders in the public and private sectors. In 2000, she was the deputy director of administration for Al Gore’s presidential campaign.

In 2005, Bryan was named one of the ‘Top 30 Under 30’ in Tennessee by Business TN magazine.  A graduate of the Young Leaders Program, she has served in leadership positions with GenerationTN, Book ‘Em, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, the Nashville Symphony, Alpha Omicron Pi and the Junior League of Nashville. 

Now living in Montgomery, Ala., Bryan remains active in the community.  She is a volunteer with Group Homes for Children and the Junior League of Montgomery.

A native of Houston, Bryan holds a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University.