Amy O. Cooke — “The Right AOC”— is the Chief Executive Officer of the John Locke Foundation and publisher of The Carolina Journal. For two decades Amy has been a champion of free markets and limited, constitutional government. As CEO, Amy’s responsibility is to lead the talented Locke staff into the organization’s fourth decade as the most influential force driving public policy so North Carolinians can enjoy the fruits of a free and prosperous society.
Amy comes to Locke from Colorado and is proud to bring her name back to North Carolina where her great-great-great-grandmother — for whom she is named — was born (1786) and raised.
Prior to joining Locke, 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. She is proud to be one of the original state-level, free-market energy policy advocates. Amy is famous for her provocative messages like “Mothers In Love with Fracking” and “I’m an energy feminist because I’m pro-choice in energy sources,” which the eco-left called “hands down the worst kind of feminism.”
She founded a Colorado nonprofit organization, the Coalition of Ratepayers, to provide a voice for captive utility customers and to intervene in regulatory proceedings on behalf of small business and residential consumers.
In December 2016, she was honored to be 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 both the prestigious Reed and Pollie awards for best Spanish language TV ad for a ballot measure.
She has authored and contributed to numerous opinion editorials, issue papers, and issue backgrounders. Amy has been published in the Daily Caller, Townhall, Charlotte Observer, Raleigh News and Observer, Durham Herald Sun, Denver Post, Pueblo Chieftain, Greeley Tribune, Denver Business Journal, Colorado Politics, and The Hill. She has appeared on Fox News, MSN.com, “Devil’s Advocate,” “Colorado Inside Out,” and “Power Hour.”
In 2015, Amy retired after 10 years of hosting the award-winning Amy Oliver Show on News Talk 1310 KFKA, Monday through Friday from 9 to 11 am. In 2008, the Colorado Broadcasters Association recognized her with the Award of Excellence for Best News Talk personality in a major market. She was recognized again in 2011 with the 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.
Amy loves sports (especially baseball), politics, and public policy. She’s married to retired sheriff and Colorado state senator John Cooke and is a mother of three and stepmom of two. Follow Amy on Twitter, where her handle is @TheRightAOC, and friend her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheRightAOC
