Author Archives: Austin R. Cooper Jr.

Austin R. Cooper, Jr., serves as the President of Cooper Strategic Affairs, Inc. The firm provides legislative, political and communications counsel in Washington, D.C., for governmental, nonprofit and for profit organizations.

Austin has an extensive legislative, political and communications background, including holding senior level positions at the federal, state and local levels of government. His employment history includes working for four Members of Congress: Congressman Charles Rangel, Congressman William H. Gray III, Congressman Louis Stokes and Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Austin has also worked on public affairs accounts for Hill and Knowlton Strategies and Edelman Worldwide.

He served as a State Lobbyist (pension, education and labor) to former New York City Mayor David N. Dinkins and Vice President of Government Affairs for the Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. He has also provided communications and government affairs counsel to the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation. Prior to establishing Cooper Strategic Affairs, Inc., Austin served as the Vice President Affairs and Communications for GoodWorks International, LLC. In this capacity, he served as the media representative for former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young and represented the Governments of Nigeria, Rwanda, Benin and Tanzania in Washington, D.C.

Austin received a Bachelor or Arts (BA) in History & Government from Saint Augustine’s University and Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. He is a member of the Washington D.C. Mu Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and serves on Board of Directors of the William O. Lockridge Community Foundation (WOLCF).

In addition, he writes a monthly political column for The Washington Informer and servers as the Managing Editor of the publication’s Our House D.C. Newsletter, which examines the impact on Black homeownership in Wards 7 and 8.