Assists clients with issues pertaining to state and municipal government, budget and appropriations, drafting legisltion, economic development and public and community relations

Alumnus of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Walmart Emerging Leader Internship

Served as legislative liaison for Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood from 2013-2015

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.

Subjects: All Subjects

Links:Website

Leads federal and state advocacy efforts for clients from the firm's Jackson office

Former chief of federal affairs and strategic priorities at the Mississippi Development Authority

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.

Subjects: All Subjects

Links:Website

Over a decade of experience in government relations, navigating the intricacies of both state and federal legislative landscapes

Previously served as the director of government affairs at the Mississippi Manufacturers Association

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.

Possesses extensive knowledge of the Mississippi legislative process

Provides trusted guidance on fiscal policy to legislative leadership and statewide elected officials

Understands the challenges that state agencies face and offers solutions that align strategically with other statewide efforts

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.

CLARE HESTER

(Mississippi)
Clients:

1) Accelerate Learning, Inc.

2) American Medical Response

3) American Petroleum Institute

4) Americans for Lower Drug Prices

5) Assured Guaranty Inc.

6) AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP and its Affiliates

7) Asurion

8) BDO Government Services, LLC

9) Beau Rivage Resorts, Inc.

10) BetterLesson

11) Bitcoin Depot

12) Brightstar Global Solutions Corporation

13) Caertwheel Care, Inc.

14) CAG Holdings, Inc. LLC, a Carlyle Company Company Name

15) Capitol Resources LLC

16) Catapult Learning

17) Centene Corporation on behalf of its affiliates and subsidiaries

18) Cicero Action

19) Community Health Center Association of Mississippi, Inc.

20) Data Recognition Corporation

21) Diamondhead Water & Sewer District

22) Drax Group

23) Equifax, Inc.

24) Ergon, Inc.

25) Ernst & Young LLP

26) Exxon Mobil Corporation

27) Fortinet, Inc.

28) Gainwell Holding Corp.

29) Google LLC and its Affiliates

30) Gulf States Toyota, Inc.

31) Hazel Health

32) HB Strategies on behalf of Good Rx

33) Health Resources LLC

34) Ingalls Shipbuilding

35) Intervest Corp.

36) Kansas City Southern Railroad Company d/b/a Canadian Pacific Kansas City and as CPKC, is wholly owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Kansas City Limited

37) Madison County Board of Supervisors

38) McLANE COMPANY, INC.

39) MedeAnalytics

40) Medical Transportation Management, Inc.

41) MedImpact Healthcare Systems, Inc.

42) Memorial Hospital at Gulfport

43) MGM Resorts International

44) Mississippi Academy of Pediatric Dentistry

45) Mississippi Association of REALTORS

46) Mississippi Association of Self-Insurers

47) Mississippi Business Alliance

48) Mississippi Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians

49) Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board

50) Mississippi Consumer Finance Association

51) Mississippi Counseling Association

52) Mississippi Economic Development Council, Inc.

53) Mississippi Healthcare Collaborative

54) Mississippi Optometric Association

55) Mississippi Orthopaedic Society

56) Mississippi Physicians Care Network

57) Mississippi Public Broadcasting Foundation

58) Mississippi Section, American College of Obstertricians & Gynecologists

59) Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure

60) Money Service Business Association, Inc.

61) MS Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs

62) National Mentor Holdings, LLC

63) National Rarities

64) NextEra Energy Resources, LLC

65) NOLA Education,LLC

66) Ochsner Health System

67) OneImaging

68) Palantir Technologies Inc.

69) Panorama Education, Inc.

70) PMI US Corporate Services Inc. and Affiliates

71) Reason Foundation

72) Regional Medical Center (Regional One Health)

73) Republic Services of MS / BFI Waste Services LLC

74) Robinhood Markets, Inc.

75) Safety and Advocacy for Empowerment (SAFE) Coalition

76) Samsara Inc.

77) Scholastic Inc

78) SecurityScorecard, Inc.

79) Sharecare

80) SHI International

81) Singing River Health System

82) SitelogIQ LLC

83) Southern Beverage Company, Inc.

84) Southern Renewable Energy Association

85) Spire Mississippi Inc.

86) State Shield Action

87) STChealth LLC

88) Stercus Bioanalytics, LLC

89) Teaching Strategies

90) The Learning Internet, Inc. DBA Learning.com

91) The Magee Foundation

92) The University of Southern Mississippi

93) Thrivist

94) Toyota Motor North America, Inc.

95) Turo Inc.

96) Twenty Labs, LLC dba Healthy Together

97) Uber Technologies, Inc.

98) Unite USA Inc. (dba Unite Us)

99) Universal Health Services, Inc.

100) Vulcan Technologies, Inc

101) Wayne Halfway House, Inc.

102) Wonderschool

103) Workday

104) yes. every. kid

105) Youth Villages

JOHN MCKAY

(Mississippi)