Fighting to Keep Energy Clean with Cortney Piper

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
Welcome everybody to another episode of Connect the Knox.
I'm Julia Hurley, Connecting Knoxville to the Nation.
Today's guest is one of the most influential women in the Knoxville area.
Somebody I know you've maybe seen, but didn't know the story

(00:25):
behind the legend of Cortney Piper with Piper Communications.
Cortney, thank you for being here with us today.
Julia, thank you so much.
That was a great introduction.
I'm going to, you're just, you're going to have
to introduce me the next time I speak somewhere.
Yes, please.
Just, I'll be a tag along.
You tell me what event it is.
It'll be, I'll be right there.
Great, great.
Or a package deal now.

(00:46):
I like it.
I love it.
I love it.
Ladies, ladies leading together.
All right, everybody.
Cortney's been here a very long time.
She is true orange through and through, and as you know, our podcast
is about bringing local leaders and local entities to the nation.
We have so many people moving here.
We have so many people interested in Knoxville.

(01:06):
I want to make sure that you get to know the local people.
So Cortney was a swimmer for the University at Tennessee.
I love to start there.
And I know that I feel like college was yesterday for me.
It was about 22 years ago, just being honest.
However, it is truly amazing to know how many people started
with the university and moved forward in leadership in Knoxville.

(01:28):
Let's start how that shaped you and where you, where you are today.
Well, I came to the University of Tennessee on a swimming scholarship.
I'm originally from Michigan, and when I was getting recruited
by schools, the final five that I chose were in the Southeast.
And it was really intentional because I did
not want to be a big fish in a small pond.

(01:48):
At the time, the SEC conference was the best, most competitive
conference, and so I really wanted a reality check on my abilities.
So, the University of Tennessee was the last recruiting trip that I took.
I was here in October, beautiful fall weekend.
There was a home game.
I mean, it was amazing.
I fell in love.
So, packed up my stuff, August 1998, came down to the University

(02:12):
of Tennessee, swam here for four years, went to school for five,
I got two degrees, and, you know, the experiences that I had
at the University of Tennessee, both swimming and academically,
really set me up for a wonderful professional life and adulthood.
You know, Immediately going to a campus in a completely different state and

(02:34):
having 20, 40 immediate best friends, there's no better feeling like it.
There is no better feeling like it because
then you immediately have the support system.
And what I also really loved about the University of Tennessee, um,
you know, I talked to a lot of different colleges and universities.
I went to five of them.
Every, one of the, well, four of the five that I

(02:54):
went to, women's athletics felt like an afterthought.
And I came here and women's athletics had its own identity.
It had its own support system.
And they didn't make you feel like, well, you're
kind of a few steps below men's athletics.
You know, thank you for being here, pat, on the head.
The University of Tennessee, the Women's Athletics Department was

(03:15):
right on par with male athletes and the male athletic department.
And you just, you felt that when you arrived on campus.
So...
Thank God for the leadership of Pat Summitt.
Pat Summitt, Joan Cronin, Carrie Howell.
I just, you know,
and I had the opportunity to go to school and see those
women in those leadership roles for four and five years.

(03:37):
And at the time, I don't think I realized how unique of experience that
was to have that many women in leadership roles that, you know, again, they
had an athletic department, they had a system, they had a business that was
treated with the same level of respect as the men's athletic department,

(03:58):
and so that shaped me in ways that I'm only just now starting to realize.
So I've interviewed Joan.
I've done a television series with Joan.
I've done a lot of leadership with Joan, a lot of speaking engagements
with her, and with Dana Hart over at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
She obviously works very closely with the athletic departments.
That is something that I've actually said to Joan before.

(04:19):
I've said, you know, as I am aging.
Um, there are things that I absorbed from conversations many
years ago that have just now started to shape who I am today.
And the impact that the University of Tennessee Athletic Department, especially
for women, has had is just now shaping the next leadership section of Knoxville.

(04:40):
And most of that is women, and we would not be here without them.
I don't even know how If they truly realize the impact they've had, because
you can tell them all day, you know, you can tell somebody they've impacted you
all day, but I don't even know if they truly experience that change and impact.
Somebody impacted them, they've impacted somebody else.
So I think that, I think they get the concept of it, but University of

(05:00):
Tennessee, Knoxville has absolutely shaped female leadership in a capacity
that Knoxville is completely changing the trajectory of conversation there.
And you're leading that conversation with your communications company.
So that is the perfect segue.
Tell us how you ended up.
Well, how I ended up here, Julia, is I needed to pay my mortgage, quite simply.

(05:21):
[laughs] As you know, I ran for county
commission during the term limit turmoil days.
Absolutely nobody will remember that, but you and I am sure of it.
Always a treasure.
You know, and I got, I got sort of bit by the political bug.
I was a political science major in college, so I'd always been
really interested in government and civics, but when I ran for county
commission, I thought, "Oh, you know, local politics, state, I love this.

(05:41):
This is, this is exciting."
And so I was working for a nonprofit at the time and doing
communications and fundraising, then worked on a U.S.
Senate campaign.
And so when all that was done, I sort of looked around and was like, "Okay.
I think I want to go into the private sector
part of communications and public relations.
Let me start talking to some local PR firms."
Well, it was the end of 2008, and we all know what was happening then.

(06:04):
There was a giant recession, and so everyone I talked to said,
"Well, we're not going to be hiring, but thank you very much.
Come back in a year or two."
So, I was like, "Well, I have a mortgage to pay now.
What am I supposed to do?"
And my, my boyfriend at the time, now my husband
said, "Well, why don't you just start freelancing?
And then you do that for about two years.
The economy will pick back up.
You find a full time job, and you're good to go."

(06:26):
And I was like, "Oh, that is brilliant!
That is a great idea!"
So that's what I started doing, and I did it for about three months.
And at that point I went, "Wait a minute, why don't I just make this a thing?
Why don't I just make this a business?
I think I can do this."
And I'd always been really interested in energy, environment, technology.

(06:47):
And through, through campaigning and just through government stuff, I got
to know people at Oakridge National Lab, TVA, the University of Tennessee.
And I thought there are these three amazing energy assets
here in East Tennessee that's really shaping the world.
Let alone the country.
I mean, we're talking country, region, world, everything.
And I thought, you know, I think with this business, I want

(07:10):
to pursue a subject matter expertise with clean energy.
And I wonder if these guys would just let me go
to things, because I have a lot more to learn.
At this point, you know, it's the end of 2008.
I'm just sort of interested in the subject matter,
but I don't exactly have a lot of expertise.
And so one of the people that I went to was Tom Ballard,
who was then the director of partnerships at Oak Ridge
National Lab, and I told him what I wanted to do.

(07:31):
And I said, "Look, is there anything here that
I can go to and just be a fly on the wall?
Anything where the public might be invited, I have to sign up.
Whatever."
And he said, "Yeah, actually, we do have a couple of events like that.
I'll let you know when they're happening."
So he let me know, and I went and I heard researchers present.
I went to user conferences.
I just went to anything that was happening in the Oak Ridge area where I

(07:53):
could learn about technology, research, problems, policy, business, anything.
And that experience really validated that, yes, I'm interested enough
in this subject matter to have a business about it, and there's
enough here to have a business with a subject matter expertise.
So off I went, started Piper Communications.

(08:14):
And one of the first things that I did was work on
some climate and energy policy in Washington, D.C.
And after all that was done, you know, one of my jobs was to organize ad
hoc business coalitions in 15 states to inform that policy and the positive.
And when all that was done, I looked at Tennessee, I looked at
Arkansas, there's South Carolina, there were a couple others too.

(08:36):
And I thought, you know, there are a lot more what we
had been calling clean energy companies in these states.
And I bet anyone had ever realized, I wonder if
they would find value in all coming together.
So in Tennessee in particular, I ran focus groups for
about two or three years and just met with people.
Um, Would you find value in this?
What would you want it to do?
And the resounding answer was yes, we would find value in this

(08:56):
industry as a whole, getting together and having one voice,
but we don't need another organization that's going to debate
whether a particular technology is clean, green, or sustainable.
We need something that looks at energy innovation
as a means to economic development and job creation.
That's where our biggest assets are.
TBA, UT, Oak Ridge National Lab.
And if we can have an organization that focuses on that innovation

(09:18):
as a means to economic development and job creation, we're in.
And I said, okay, I can do that.
I can do that, but will you join?
They said yes.
That was about 2013.
That was how the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council was formed.
It's a 501c3.
I serve as executive director of that as well.
And Piper Communications staffs it.
So, you know, it's just one of those things where I

(09:40):
noticed that there was an opportunity to do something,
and instead of sitting around and going, "Gosh, you know,
I wonder it would be really great if, what if we were just
like," no, let's, let's go make something happen, and we did.
And it's, uh, you know, the organization is doing great things to
just champion advanced energy as an economic development and job
creation strategy and do it in a way that brings people together.

(10:01):
Let's find commonality.
Let's find common ground.
Let's look at how innovation can create economic development
and job, economic development and job creation opportunities.
So during, during this last decade and a half, growing this
amazing organization using limited tools at the time, right?
The, uh, what was it?
The Innovation Corridor that whatever it was just starting

(10:24):
those conversations in 2011, 2012, really and truly.
So you were in the middle of the beginning stages of the best
and highest use of what E Tech has brought to the table today.
East Tennessee Environmental, what is it?
East Tennessee
Economic Council.
Economic Council.
I always say Energy Council.
It's not.
It's Economic Council.
But you have literally created a niche inside of this system that needed to be

(10:48):
brought together and discuss the end result, not argue the way to get there.
And during all of this same time, I want to get a little personal
because I believe it's really important for people moving here.
And there are 3,000 new employees moving here in this sector alone who will
want to know who you are and need to know who you are and relate to you.

(11:09):
You had a wedding, you have a family, you have triplets.
I do, two girls and a boy.
And you also started another organization.
At the same time, within the school districts, tell us a little about that.
Sure.
Well, my, my son has autism.
He's autistic.
And we took him through Tennessee, uh, early, uh, Early Intervention.

(11:29):
And then you, once you turn three years old, you go
through Child Find, which is through the school system.
And so when he started doing that, uh, in the Pre-K part of his educational
career, he had something called an individualized education plan.
And, uh, when he got into kindergarten, the start
of kindergarten was really, really rough on him.
And what I had noticed and after several IEP meetings

(11:52):
is, you know, first of all, he needed more support in
the classroom and that's what an IEP is supposed to do.
It's supposed to be individualized and customized to students.
But we also had his doctor that diagnosed him, um, at
East Tennessee Children's Hospital prescribed ABA therapy.
And it's a therapy for children with
autism, and our insurance was paying for it.

(12:14):
He was approved for 30 hours a week.
And I thought, you know, this is the support that he needs in the class.
And I said, "Look, can we, can his therapist join him in the classroom?"
It is like, it is free for everybody, you know,
and these are professionals and they are certified.
They're professionals.
My insurance is paying for it.
The doctor prescribed it.
And the first response that I got back from the school

(12:36):
system was, "Well, we have a policy against that.
Just like we don't allow piano lessons or karate lessons in the school."
And immediately I was like, listen, absolutely
no one is going to speak to me that way.
And second of all, a medical therapy is not
the same as an extracurricular activity.
So I just started asking more questions
within the school district about what is this?

(12:57):
And I kept getting the same answer.
We have a policy against it.
And so I said, can you please show me this policy?
I'd like to understand it.
I'd like to read it.
I'd like to, you know, figure out how to work with it.
So after a couple of months of that, nobody could send me a
policy and then finally I got someone from the school system
that said, actually, we don't have a policy against it.
It's more of a practice, and I thought, this is crazy town.

(13:17):
So I was able to find a couple other mothers that were
experiencing the exact same thing and we organized.
We got together, we started going to school board meetings.
We started in February of 2023, and we went to
every single school board meeting and we spoke.
And then we had the idea of, well, if Knox County Schools is not going to put

(13:39):
together a policy to explicitly allow this kind of thing, Let's draft one.
So I hired an attorney that had done some research on this matter.
And I said, listen, if you were drafting a public policy to allow
ABA professionals in the classroom, like what would it look like?
I feel like we need to give Knox County schools a jumping off point, and he'd
done a lot of research and found that the state of Louisiana allowed this.

(14:02):
And listen, as somebody that went to the University of
Tennessee for Louisiana to be ahead of us on something,
I was like, that can't, it just can't be, it cannot be.
You know, and so he found other school
districts in the state, across the country.
And so he had a lot of good information.
He drafted a policy and we put that in front of the school board and that's
what finally got them to say, okay, well maybe we should draft a policy to

(14:23):
allow not only these kinds of therapists, but other private practitioners.
And so we were just like, you know, finally, you know, we met with the mayor,
we met with the county commission chair, we met with the superintendent.
In addition to going to every single school board meeting and speaking.
So finally, in June 2023, the school board passed a policy to allow

(14:44):
private practitioners, ABA therapists being one of the practitioners,
into the school so that, you know, children with autism can get
all the support that they need to be successful in the classroom.
So, you know, that was a really rewarding experience.
And because of that, the school system, I guess, in their
infinite wisdom, Also put me on a special education task force
which has morphed into a special education council where we're

(15:07):
providing feedback and input on how to improve special education.
The chairwoman of the Knox County Board of Education
actually put forward and passed a resolution to make Knox
County a model school district for special education.
So we are working diligently to that end to make sure that it happens
because When if you have a child with special needs, the public school

(15:29):
system is the absolute best place for them to be when we get it right.
And it does take a lot of parent involvement and advocacy to get it right.
So I'm confident that we can get there.
It's going to take a lot of work and it's going
to take a lot of engagement, but we'll get there.
We all know that real estate is location, location, location.
Our team at Just Homes Group has the true expertise,

(15:54):
pairing buyers and sellers with the right opportunity.
Whether you're looking to buy or sell a home right here
in Knoxville, Lenore City, Clinton, or Farragut, we have
the expertise throughout every Knoxville surrounding area.
Call Just Homes Group today.

(16:14):
This is a good lesson.
People always ask, how can I get involved?
How do I change things?
I don't understand this process.
Listening to you list off the consistency of meetings, effort,
conversations, and of course during all of those times elections
happen, people get re elected, reappointed, not appointed, moved.
Um, so you're always starting from almost a

(16:36):
new space every time you walk in the door.
So how long did it take you from start to finish to start?
To really ingrain this conversation, get it drafted,
get it passed, and get the alliance started.
So my first email when I was just sort of flying
solo to the school district was August of 2022.
And then it was somewhere around December or Jan, December

(17:01):
2022 or January 2023 where I started finding other people.
And somewhere between December and February is where we really
gained momentum, and we found about half a dozen of us first.
And, uh, so it was, I mean, it, yeah, it took less
than a year for everybody to get involved and engaged.
But once we started finding each other, we were

(17:23):
very intentional about, okay, there's the six of us.
There's got to be more of us.
How do we find more of us?
Facebook.
We started a Facebook group.
So, we're going to meetings, we need to have a plan for meetings, we need
to have a consistent message when we speak in front of the school board.
We also need to make sure that we're always there, that at least
two people can constantly show up and be there to share their story.

(17:46):
Well, now we need to form individual relationships with school board members.
Who is your school board member?
Who is your school board member?
Who do you know through other things that you can also add on to your list?
And making sure that as our group grew, they understood the importance of
reaching out to their school board member and just sharing their story.
It can be via email.
You can give them a call.
If you want to, you can go grab coffee with them, but

(18:08):
just share your story with that school board member.
So, you know, All told, it did.
It's actually a little bit remarkable thinking about it, but it took less
than a year, but we were always very, very consistent, and we always had
a plan, and we were always really intentional about what we were doing.
Never underestimate the power of a female who needs
to pay her mortgage and take care of her kids.

(18:30):
That is true.
That is true.
During the, so we're transitioning, you went from Choosing
UT, or maybe really UT wanted you so badly it chose you.
You came at the perfect time, with the perfect home game, and the
perfect feel of the outside in the fall, and everything was great.
Everything came together.
You stayed, and we're so pleased that you did.
Started Piper Communications, put together

(18:51):
this, I'm not going to say nuclear alliance, but
Clean energy, yes.
Ya know, started a family, have stayed here, started an
alliance within the school districts, what's the next move?
I had, and I asked that with a little bit of a caveat and purposeful
redirection of the NOW Conference, which is where I ran into you, and asked
you to be on this podcast, because your relevancy, Um, during my time as well,

(19:16):
so during the time that you were starting all of your stuff is when I was
also running for my first political office, so the growth and the relevancy
there of knowing kind of the battle that you've fought through that specific
section of, of the energy sector, I could say, um, and watching you grow
this amazing business on top of everything else that you're doing, Thank

(19:38):
you Running into you at the NOW Conference was such a fortuitous moment.
Explain what that is to everybody, why you were
there, what your role is and where it's going.
The NOW Conference is the Nuclear Opportunities Workshop.
It's put together by ETEC, the East Tennessee Economic Council.
I just happened to be chair elect this year.
I will be the chair next year.

(19:59):
So I was there in that capacity.
I was also there because the Tennessee Advanced
Energy Business Council was a supporter of the event.
We run something in partnership with Launch Tennessee called the
Energy Network, where we provide mentoring to energy entrepreneurs.
And so we were there to promote our organization and
those services and a bunch of different services that

(20:20):
Launch Tennessee also has to support energy entrepreneurs.
Nuclear energy entrepreneurs, of course, being a big
focus for east Tennessee, because we have so many assets.
And, you know, in terms of what's next, it has been remarkable to see how
what we've called the advanced energy industry grow in the state of Tennessee.

(20:41):
And nuclear energy is certainly part of that.
The last time the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council
released an economic impact report, we found that there
were more than 20,000 businesses in the advanced energy.
Sector and it employs nearly 394,000 Tennesseans.
So this is a really, really, really big part of our economy and

(21:01):
what we're starting to see now in particular with nuclear in
East Tennessee is all of our assets are getting on the same page.
They are getting aligned.
We've got the Department of Energy that has property and land that's available.
We've got local governments, Roane County, Anderson County, the City of Oak
Ridge are all on the same page in terms of economic development and recruitment.

(21:23):
They have You know, and it's taken a lot of work, but they've all been
able to collaborate on, listen, we've got goals for economic development.
We want to build an advanced nuclear cluster.
That means we might have to say no to some things that would give us an easy
win, but it's not going to be a long term fit for what we want to build here.
And you know, Terry Franks, Warren Gooch, Wayne Creswell, to their

(21:47):
credit, they have been able to work together to bring home some big, big,
big wins in advanced nuclear.
So my hat is off to them.
And you know, I believe, and I'll, I'll take just a wee bit of credit
for this, I think it's, you know, organizations like ours that are
championing energy as an economic development and job creation strategy.
And you don't have to pick one, you know, in East Tennessee, nuclear

(22:10):
energy are assets tend to align there in west Tennessee with, uh, Ford's
Blue City, they're going all in on electrification and electric vehicles.
All of this is part of the bigger picture.
All of this is going to provide better job opportunities for all Tennesseans.
And so the more that you can elevate that message of innovation as a means

(22:30):
to economic development and job creation, the more wins we will see in
Tennessee, the more intellectual property we will see stay in this state
and in this country, and the more opportunities you give in our case,
Tennesseans, to just have better careers and provide for their families.
Where can people find more information about your organization?
I feel like as we continue to grow, and I know

(22:53):
that Wade and Terry have been working very hard.
I mean, we've all been working very hard pretty
much for the past 20 years to make this happen.
I know the governor's initiative to make Tennessee the nuclear, you know, space.
Yes.
Oh my gosh.
I can't, I cannot forget Governor Lee.
Give credit where credit is due.
He made that Nuclear Energy Opportunity Fund, which was not a small lift.

(23:15):
I mean, this was not a small ask of the Tennessee General Assembly.
A very large investment pot of money to go into an industry that can
pay off in spades, but that needs that that kind of incentive in order
to locate here and for Tennesseans to realize the benefits of it.
So he did that for our Orano, which is one of the newest announcements.

(23:37):
He did that for Type One Energy.
He also did that for for Blue Oval City and a host
of other kind of battery related and electric.
electric vehicle related economic development wins across the state.
So Governor Lee also deserves a lot of credit.
He sees the potential of advanced energy and energy innovation
across all sectors as a means to lift Tennesseans up.

(23:59):
And he has put together some very strategic
programs, policies, and initiatives to get us there.
He has some really great advisors like Cortney Piper.
We've been very lucky to have two great governors in a row.
Another one to continue this on.
I feel like all the initiatives that we've all taken
over the last 20 years to move Tennessee into a space.

(24:23):
That would be energy friendly and in a leadership position
are finally culminating with the right people around them.
So Cortney, thank you very much for being a massive part of that because
without you this entire organization may or may not have been started,
but it has definitely gotten to the point where it is better communicated.
With Piper Communications, people understand what

(24:44):
the goal is and they want to be a part of it.
And having leadership that allows all people to be involved is
something that is very relevant, something that you are very good
at making sure that there is inclusivity and great communication.
So again, thank you so much for everything that you do.
We're going to wrap it up because I've taken a very large
part of your time this morning, and I appreciate that.

(25:05):
But where can people find you?
How can they get involved?
And what can they do to help you move this forward?
Well, I'm all over the internet, so if you Google my name, you will find me.
The Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council,
you can find out more at TNAdvancedEnergy.
com.
And Piper Communications is Piper Energy.
Communications with an S dot com.
Again, you can also Google my name.

(25:26):
I don't have a U in it and it'll take you to LinkedIn and everything else.
So Julia, thank you so much for this opportunity.
This has been fun.
Been very fun.
I thank you very much.
Count on us being part of the NOW Conference next year and anything
you need between now and then we are always happy to help everyone.
This has been another episode of Connect the Knox.
Connecting Knoxville to the nation.

(25:47):
Until next time.
Thank you for tuning into the show.
Make sure to like and subscribe, leave a five star review
on your podcast player of choice, and if you would like
information on moving to Knoxville, send me a private message.
As always, this is Julia Hurley connecting Knoxville to the nation.

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Fighting to Keep Energy Clean with Cortney Piper