Courtney Yopp Norris

Background

After working on several campaigns in Kentucky and as a staff assistant in the Office of the U.S. Senate Majority Whip, Courtney served as the Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky. As the official spokeswoman, she advised the U.S. Attorney and the Assistant U.S. Attorneys on media relations and developed the first public affairs program and communications strategy for the office. She worked with the U.S. Attorney at the time, Amul Thapar, to conduct outreach events and create educational programs on child predators, internet safety and cyber bullying for parents and students.

She then moved to Washington, D.C. where she served as the Deputy Communications Director for U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell and later as the Communications Director for Congressman Brett Guthrie.

In 2012, she moved back to Kentucky to serve as the Director of Corporate Communications for Churchill Downs Incorporated, where she managed the dialogue between  the  company  and  its  diverse  audiences. She also worked with the finance,  legal,  business  and  executive  teams  to  ensure  all  announcements were disseminated according to SEC guidelines for a publicly traded company. Her ability to navigate the intersection of business, government and media relations was valuable to the company.

In 2018, her entrepreneurial spirit led her to start The Pocket Bakery, a boutique bakery in Louisville, KY. Her ability to create engaging and visually appealing social media content resulted in rapid growth of her customer base and brand identity. She has a strong understanding of social media platforms, trends, and best practices. She is currently writing a baking book.

Education

BA in Political Science: Campaign Management –Western Kentucky University
BA in Public Relations – Western Kentucky University