Mark McNeely
Senior Partner

McNeely founded the company as McNeely & Associates in 1987. Strategic planning, government relations and regional media relations are his specialties. Prior to founding the firm, he served in key staff and campaign roles for U.S. Senator Al Gore, Jr., former U.S. Senator Jim Sasser, former Nashville Mayor Richard Fulton and the Tennessee Supreme Court.

His 11-year journalism career included reporting for The Knoxville Journal, The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, and The Knoxville News-Sentinel. He is a 1970 journalism graduate of the University of Tennessee and a Knoxville, Tenn., native.

Mike Pigott
Founding Partner / Senior Counsel

Award-winning writing, extensive media relations, public affairs and strategic planning are among the skills Pigott has put to work for clients since joining the firm in 1988. He has served as communications director for Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen's two successful campaigns for mayor of Nashville, as well as his bid for governor in 1994.

Prior to joining MP&F, the Purdue University graduate served for 12 years as an investigative reporter and later as the senior political writer for the Nashville Banner.

David Fox
Partner

Fox, a veteran journalist and author, has worked for a variety of clients in industries ranging from automotive to health care to high tech and specializes in national media relations, special events and long-range planning. Before joining MP&F in 1990, he was vice president of Atkinson Public Relations. He is the author of two published books and also worked in the presidential campaigns of both Sen. Howard Baker and President Jimmy Carter.

During his 12-year journalism career, he was a reporter for The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, the Nashville Banner, and United Press International. A native of Memphis, he is a 1972 English graduate of Vanderbilt University.

Katy Varney
Partner

Varney joined McNeely Pigott & Fox in 1993, bringing to the firm a strong background in government affairs and coalition building and a nationwide network of contacts. Since joining MP&F, Varney has overseen successful grassroots campaigns and has led account teams handling communications for the Job Corps program in 36 states in addition to highly effective national advertising campaigns for the federal job training initiative.

A graduate of Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., Varney worked on the White House advance staffs of then First Lady Rosalyn Carter and later Vice President Walter Mondale and served as Gov. Ned McWherter’s chief lobbyist on Capitol Hill.

Keith Miles
Partner

Miles joined MP&F in 1995 and specializes in technology, media relations, multimedia, strategic planning and governmental relations. Prior to joining MP&F, Miles served eight years as press secretary and state coordinator for former U.S. Senator Jim Sasser and previously wrote for the Nashville Banner, Johnson City Press, Kingsport Times-News and others.

He has been a contributor to national and regional publications, including The American Banker and Southern Exposure. He is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Miles is a journalism graduate of East Tennessee State University.

Dave Cooley
Partner

Cooley, a principal of Cooley Public Strategies, a subsidiary of MP&F, is a premier strategist with more than 20 years of experience in government, politics, and corporate and public affairs. Cooley and the partners of MP&F launched the consultancy in January 2007 after his four-year term as deputy governor of Tennessee under Gov. Phil Bredesen and as the senior strategist in Bredesen's 2002 campaign, which saw the Democrat gain an important red-state victory.

As deputy governor, Cooley was the point person for a multitude of public policy initiatives, ranging from health care and homeland security improvements to education reforms. Also during his tenure, Cooley developed a national network of relationships with key elected officials, political operatives and public-sector managers.

Prior to joining the Bredesen campaign and administration, Cooley was a principal at MP&F, where he led a wide array of health care, grassroots and public affairs campaigns from California to New Jersey. Cooley has provided strategic counsel on competitive positioning for clients ranging from the Tennessee Titans and AT&T to Colonial Pipeline. A veteran of more than 100 political campaigns nationwide, Cooley has built a reputation as a focused strategist who understands the nuances of the ever-changing political and regulatory environment, the operational paradigms of federal, state and local governments, and the shifting trends of the corporate marketplace. A native of Rockwood, Tenn., Cooley holds a bachelor's degree from Tennessee Technological University and a master's degree from the University of West Florida.