Kelly Wright joined the Cornerstone Mississippi team as a vice president in December 2023.

Kelly brings over a decade of experience in government relations, showcasing a diverse skillset and proven ability to navigate the intricacies of both state and federal legislative landscapes. In her most recent role as the director of government affairs at the Mississippi Manufacturers Association (MMA), she actively engaged with state legislators to advocate for key issues relevant to the MMA. Kelly's responsibilities included monitoring committee meetings and floor actions, preparing detailed position papers on legislation and establishing crucial relationships.

Additionally, Kelly maintained membership activities at MMA, where she oversaw the policy and government affairs committees. She served as a liaison between member companies and various state agencies, ensuring open lines of communication and facilitating collaboration. Notably, Kelly demonstrated her leadership abilities by managing the MMA PAC. She identified candidates aligned with MMA's mission and made recommendations to the MMA PAC Board.

Kelly holds a bachelor's degree in history and psychology from the University of Mississippi.

20+ years

Camille Young brings almost two decades of background in the practice of state and federal government affairs to Cornerstone's Jackson, Mississippi office. Prior to joining Cornerstone, Camille spent 10 years as a government affairs representative with one of the State's leading law firms, Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis, P.A.

Prior to that, Camille spent five years at the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation in several positions, including communications specialist, director of media relations and government relations specialist. During her time at Farm Bureau, she also spent time on Capitol Hill establishing relationships and providing support for the agricultural community. She also held a position with the United States Department of Agriculture as an outreach and public affairs specialist.

At Watkins Ludlam, Camille worked for the state and federal legislative interests of clients as varied as an institution of higher learning, a major automotive manufacturer, associations that represent constituents in every county of the state and healthcare entities. In addition to her Capitol lobbying tasks, Camille provided significant support to clients in areas of public relations and community relations.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour tapped Camille to serve as a museum liaison for the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum project that joined public and private sponsors to launch the venture that will honor Mississippi's history in the Civil Rights Movement.

Camille is very involved in community activities like the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership Board of Directors, the Junior League of Jackson Sustainers Board of Directors, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and the Mississippi 4-H Foundation. She also was honored to serve as President of the Mississippi State University National Alumni Association in 2012-13.

Camille has been honored for her professional accomplishments and service to the community as a member of the Mississippi Business Journal's Top 50 Business Women (2006) and Top 40 Under 40 (2005). She was named a Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scout Council of Middle Mississippi and Alumnus of the Year by the Central Mississippi Chapter of the MSU Alumni Association. She also is a member of the BankFirst Board of Directors and the inaugural class of Top 50 Most Influential People in Mississippi.

Camille grew up in Shannon, MS, and graduated from Mississippi State University (B.A., 1994 and M.S., 1996).

Camille and her husband Keith are the proud parents of three children and enjoy living in rural Madison County. Camille is an active participant in her church, community and the school activities of her children.

Drew Maddox joined the Cornerstone Mississippi team in February 2020 as a vice president with more than 10 years of experience in finance and education policy. Previously, Drew served as the chief financial officer of the Mississippi Department of Revenue, where he oversaw all administrative divisions of the department, including accounting, communications, processing, information technologies and logistics. As CFO, Drew also worked closely with state legislators and statewide elected officials to guide tax policy decisions, liquor laws, and revenue-generating activities.

Prior to his time at the Department of Revenue, Drew also worked as director of state engagement at EdBuild, where he used his knowledge of political and governmental structures to strategically place educational reform proposals in the best positions for success in state legislatures across the country. Drew has also worked at the Mississippi Legislative Budget Office as the Senate budget officer, where he worked closely with leadership to craft and pass balanced budgets.

Drew received his Bachelor of Arts in English literature and his Bachelor of Business Administration degrees from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. Drew enjoys spending time with his wife and two children (Sam and Bee), baseball, and gardening.

0-5 years

Chris Gobble is a respected government affairs specialist with deep issue expertise and a broad base of policymaker and stakeholder relationships. He leverages his insights into the state General Assembly, Tennessee executive branch, and local governments to help SRG clients navigate complex political challenges and effectively advance meaningful policy solutions.

Prior to joining SRG, Chris served as senior director of public policy for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, where he helped drive policy changes and facilitate government affairs efforts for 2,000 businesses representing over 180,000 employees. He also regularly and effectively collaborated with local, state, and federal elected officials to advance Chattanooga's status as a leader in education, workforce, and economic development.

Prior to Gobble's tenure in Chattanooga, he was the legislative and policy director for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. In this role, Gobble worked closely with Governor Bill Haslam's office and the state legislature to develop and implement a variety of public policy initiatives.

Originally from Bradley County, Chris earned a B.A. in Political Science and Communications from Lipscomb University. He and his wife Sarah live in Nashville.

11-15 years

Tommy has been recognized during his government relations career as one of the top lobbyists at the North Carolina General Assembly. He was ranked as the 33rd Most Influential Lobbyist of the 2013-2014 Legislative Session by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research in its annual survey of lobbyists, legislators and Capitol Press Corps members.

Tommy is a senior vice president in the state government affairs group at McGuireWoods Consulting where he represents clients before the state legislature and U.S. Congress.
He brings more than a decade of experience in state and federal policy, legislative process and politics, including serving as senior staff for the North Carolina Senate President Pro Tem and several members of U.S. Congress. Tommy has a strong network throughout state government in North Carolina and the North Carolina congressional delegation, and has experience representing Fortune 500 companies, start-ups and trade associations before the North Carolina General Assembly, Congress and executive agencies on issues including energy, environmental, education, transportation, health care and information technology.
Prior to joining McGuireWoods Consulting, Tommy served as the director of state public affairs for Moore & Van Allen Public Affairs where he managed the Raleigh office and represented clients at both the state and federal level for Moore & Van Allen Public Affairs. Before his time at Moore & Van Allen, Tommy served as deputy chief of staff for policy for North Carolina President Pro Tem Phil Berger. Before Tommy worked at the General Assembly, he lobbied at the federal level for both the NC Farm Bureau and the National Pork Producers Council for several years. He also worked on Capitol Hill for nine years, including six years with Congressman Robin Hayes where he served as deputy chief of staff.
Tommy is a native of Raleigh, where he lives with his wife and two sons.

6-10 years

I have been recognized by the Nashville Post list of In-Charge: Government & Politics for 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022

Our firm was recognized nationally by the Public Relations Society of America for our comprehensive public affairs campaign to bring Major League Soccer to Nashville

Mark Cate is the Founder and President of Stones River Group, a Nashville-based public affairs firm serving both Tennessee, regional and national clients. He formerly served as Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam's chief of staff, where he was his top advisor, strategist and negotiator.

During his tenure with the Haslam Administration, Mark led several legislative policy initiatives, including K-12 education reform, workers' compensation reform, civil service reform, an alternative approach to Medicaid expansion, and postsecondary education reform, including the nationally-acclaimed Tennessee Promise program.

Prior to serving in state government, Mark successfully managed Governor Haslam's first gubernatorial campaign in 2010, which led to a record-setting general election victory. He previously worked as an executive in real estate management and development and served for 16 years as a higher education leader. Over the course of his career, Mark has served as a chief development officer, chief planning officer, chief marketing officer, and as a chief financial officer—working on budgets ranging from $10 million to $30 billion.

Mark grew up in Maryville, TN and currently lives in Brentwood with his wife Cathy who serves as the Executive Director of Leadership Tennessee. He and Cathy have two daughters, Bailey who is a recent graduate at Rhodes College and currently serves as a fellow at the Crop Trust in Bonn, Germany; and Abbie who is rising junior at George Washington University.

Cate received a B.S from Carson-Newman College, an M.S from the University of Tennessee, and Harvard University's Institute for Educational Management certificate program. He's served on a wide variety of non-profit boards and was an elected member of the Maryville Board of Education.

Manning joined Cornerstone in May of 2023 following his time at Watkins & Eager PLLC, where he served as a Government Affairs Advisor. Based in Jackson, Manning supports clients at the state and federal level, specifically with infrastructure, community development, public safety, workforce development, Corps of Engineers and other issues areas.

In his previous role, he helped secure state appropriations for projects and pursued federal earmark requests, successfully advocating for tens of millions of dollars for clients. Additionally, he worked on a variety of issues including tax policy, business regulations, and federal and state regulatory approval for complex, large scale projects.

Prior to this, Manning held different roles with the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), his last one being the Chief of Federal Affairs and Strategic Priorities, where he worked directly with the governor and his staff to support economic development. Manning was a member of the executive committee of the state's lead economic and community development agency advancing the state's priorities on a variety of federal issues including aerospace, military spending and base/mission realignment, infrastructure and defense sector recruitment.

While at the MDA he also directed the activities of six division directors with a wide variety of responsibilities from strategic policy development, community development and federal regulatory compliance, in addition to coordinating the inter-governmental affairs of the agency, including working closely with the Office of the Governor, statewide elected officials, other state executive agencies, the state legislature and the federal Congressional delegation.

Manning holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Mississippi.

Elliott Flaggs joined Cornerstone's Jackson office in October 2015. He most recently served as a special assistant attorney general with the Mississippi Attorney General's Office in the capacity of legislative liaison for Attorney General Jim Hood and director of the Child Desertion Unit. His responsibilities included analyzing and advocating legislation impacting state citizens and the Mississippi Attorney General's Office, advising the executive staff on legislative strategies, and making recommendations regarding legislative proposals. He also prosecuted parents for child neglect and abandonment in the Public Integrity Division.

Prior to the Mississippi Attorney General's Office, Elliott attended Mississippi State University where he received a bachelor's degree in industrial and systems engineering (B.A., 2007). After graduation, he was accepted into the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation - Walmart Emerging Leaders Program where he worked on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. for Congressman G.K. Butterfield (North Carolina - District 1). Subsequently, he attended The University of Mississippi School of Law and graduated cum laude (J.D., 2012). During law school, he was a member of the Mississippi Law Journal and Dean's Leadership Council while also serving as a Law School Student Body Senator.

Furthermore, Elliott is an active member of the Mississippi Bar Association, Jackson Young Lawyers, Magnolia Bar Association, the Charles Clark Inn of Court and Jackson Professional Group. He is an incorporator and board member of The First Tee of Central Mississippi in Jackson, MS. He is also a 2015-16 graduate of Leadership Greater Jackson and now serves on their board of directors. In addition, Elliott has been recognized as an American Cancer Society - Best Dressed Jackson honoree as a result of his community service efforts and by the Clarion Ledger as a Top Politician and Politico Under 35 in Mississippi.

Elliott and his wife, Brittany, reside in Madison, MS with their daughter, Lianne.