Amy O. Cooke is the retired Chief Executive Officer of the John Locke Foundation and Publisher of Carolina Journal and founder of the public policy consulting firm East x West Strategies. As Locke’s CEO, Amy led the organization through the COVID crisis and merger with the Civitas Institute that transformed Locke from a think tank into a battle tank. Now in its fourth decade, the award-winning Locke is the most influential driving force for public policy that ensures all North Carolinians have the freedom and opportunity to thrive. Prior to her move to North Carolina, Amy served as Executive Vice President of the Independence Institute (II), Colorado’s free-market think tank. She was also Director of the Energy and Environmental Policy Center at II, Locke’s sister think tank. Amy’s area of expertise is energy policy. In December 2016, she was honored to be the second person named to President Donald Trump’s Transition Team for the Environmental Protection Agency. Her work on important public policy ballot measures has earned her numerous awards, including the Spark Freedom Trendsetter Award for social media outreach and the prestigious Reed and Pollie awards. She has authored and contributed to numerous opinion editorials, issue papers, and issue backgrounders and has been published in the Daily Caller, Townhall, Denver Post, Pueblo Chieftain, Greeley Tribune, Denver Business Journal, Colorado Politics, Charlotte Observer, Durham Herald Sun, Raleigh News and Observer, Carolina Journal, and The Hill. In 2015, Amy retired after 10 years of hosting the award-winning Amy Oliver Show on News Talk 1310 KFKA. The Colorado Broadcasters Association recognized her with the Award of Excellence and Award of Merit for Best News Talk personality in a major market. Amy earned a Bachelor of Journalism in Magazine Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master’s degree in American History from the University of Northern Colorado. She enjoys splitting time between her two favorite states – North Carolina and Colorado.