A career characterized by service and leadership. Scott led Marines for 20 years in combat and at home, leading change and providing strategic guidance. He lead es government relations for one of the largest federal contractors in the U.S. He founded a grass-roots military veteran organization that promotes human rights and engaged citizenship. Co-author of the seminal book on no-fly zones, he convened high-level national security leaders on issues ranging from refugee policy to electromagnetic spectrum operations to voting rights. He is a policy expert and a movement builder- a change agent at the intersection of defense, business, foreign policy, politics, and civil society.

Professional Experience

Vice President, Government Relations, Peraton January 2022 - Present

• Corporate Vice President responsible for the development, direction, and management of Peraton's external engagement strategies with Congress, the executive branch, think tanks, federally funded R&D centers, advocacy organizations, influencers, and experts, leading outreach, engagement, and strategic messaging.
  
• Raised Peraton profile in the Washington, DC, ecosphere to include participation on Atlantic Council commission on defense innovation, key thought leadership roles at the Aspen Institute, the Homeland Security Enterprise Forum, the Cipher Brief Threat Conference, and both paid and earned media in the federal and national security space.
  
• Developed and nurtured key relationships throughout the federal government, including the Departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security, Justice, Health and Human Services, and the White House.

Scott Cooper Consulting LLC March 2019 - January 2022

• Self-employed consultant providing subject matter expertise and analysis on defense, legislative strategy, defense budgets, and foreign affairs. Unique expertise ranging from legislative engagement to civilian harm reduction and mitigation, from unmanned systems and electromagnetic spectrum operations to refugee and immigration policy to countering violent extremism.
  • Select clients include Moonshot: leading DoD engagement in work to end online harms, applying evidence, ethics, and human rights; Center for Civilians in Conflict: curriculum development for use in training foreign militaries on civilian harm mitigation; More in Common: building coalition of veteran and military family organizations to call for greater civic engagement; Association of Old Crows: legislative and budget analysis, quality assessment, and policy expertise; FairVote: strategic communications.
    
  • Agent with Charles F. Bolden Group, providing expertise in diversity & inclusion, space/aerospace exploration, defense, foreign affairs, national security, science, technology, engineering, and math.
    

Candidate for LJ_s_ Congress April 2019 - December 2019

• Candidate for North Carolina's 2nd Congressional District. Raised $575,000 from over 3,000 individual donors. Built a diverse coalition of supporters and placed civic engagement and public service at center of campaign platform.
  
• Received national-level endorsements from organizations including VoteVets, Foreign Policy for America, and the Voter Protection Project. Garnered national and state-level media attention, including a feature in the New York Times, From Cockpit to Campaign, Two Marine Aviators Gun for the House. Concluded candidacy in December 2019 when the North Carolina legislature redrew the Congressional district maps because of a court decision on partisan gerrymandering, drawing residence out of the 2nd District.
  

National Security Outreach Director, Human Rights First August 2014 - March 2019

• Chef ambassador of national security for Human Rights First, building alliances and partnerships with the defense, military, foreign affairs, legislative, and national security communities to further human rights.
  
• Founder of Veterans for American Ideals, a grass-roots, community based movement of veterans that leveraged military voices to bridge divides and regain a shared sense of national community.
  
  • Initiatives included advocating for American leadership on the global refugee crisis, countering anti-Muslim bigotry in the U.S., and resourcing the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa {5IV) program for wartime allies.
    
  • Established diverse coalition of nonprofits, interfaith organizations, and military veterans to engage Congress to support SIV program. Drafted legislation, coalition sign-on letters, and engagement strategies.
    
• Led group of over 200 retired generals and admirals in a legislative advocacy campaign to build bipartisan consensus against torture, to responsibly close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, and to continue to welcome and assist refugees coming to the United States, including the passage of the McCain-Feinstein amendment codifying the prohibition on torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of any detainees in U.S. custody.
  
• Wrote and published policy briefs, OpEds, book chapters, and a peer-reviewed book.

Regional Director, Middle East, Zodiac Aerospace May 2013 - August 2014

• Led company business in 13 countries throughout a geographic region stretching from Morocco to India. Responsible for maintaining and growing business relationships with customer militaries, pursuing new business opportunities throughout region, and supervising all aspects of sates.
  

United States Marine Corps Officer (Retired as Lieutenant Colonel/ 1993 - 2013

• Executive leader and EA-6B squadron commander. Deployed 200-person squadron to Afghanistan, flying in combat.
  
• Strategic analyst and advisor. Served as speech writer to the Marine Corps 3-star Deputy Commandant for Aviation. Author of public remarks, congressional testimony, and strategic messages.
  
• Recognized authority in tactical aviation, air power, electronic warfare, and electromagnetic spectrum. Served as primary staff to 3 and 4-star commanders, responsible for analyzing future security environments and developing strategy and force structure recommendations.
  
• Eight overseas operational deployments, serving in key tactical, operational, and strategic positions.
  
  • Expert on interagency and overseas development issues. Led initial military team in Djibouti in 2002, establishing key relationships with US State Department, USAID, and Djiboutian civilians and military. Led U.S. military and State Department contingency planning efforts in 2002 for American citizen evacuations in Pakistan, Jordan, and Egypt.
    
  • Stabilization and governance authority. Teamed with State Department and USAID Representatives in Al Anbar Province, Iraq in key tribal engagement efforts during "the surge" in Iraq in 2007.
    
  • Tactical aviation expert. Flew in Iraqi no-fly zone enforcement, Bosnian no-fly zone enforcement, Kosovo Air Campaign, Iraq Campaign, and Afghanistan Campaign.
    
  • Electronic Warfare professional. Key leader and technical expert in counter-improvised explosive device efforts. Led interagency effort that achieved an over SO percent reduction in fatalities in 2007.