Professional Biographical Information:
Phyllis R. Cooke has been with the University of Georgia School of Law since 1992 and serves as director of annual giving. She coordinates the law school's annual giving program and assists in all facets of law school fund raising.

Cooke assumed her fund-raising post in 2000 and has brought the Law School Fund to record levels. Cooke made a lot of friends for the law school long before she started raising money by serving as activities coordinator in the law school's Alumni Programs Office for the previous eight years. She wore many hats in that role, helping to organize law school special events such as Homecoming, Reunion Weekend and Law Day; applying her computer expertise to maintain and improve the alumni database; and representing the law school as an ambassador at alumni gatherings throughout the state.

Before coming to UGA, Cooke was employed for 13 years at Baker & Taylor Books. She served in various positions including pricing specialist in the corporate office in Charlotte, N.C., where she was responsible for solicitations for government, national and international book contracts, as well as the school and library markets. She then served as a marketing and finance manager at O'Kelley Personnel in Gainesville, Ga., and as a loan processor at Fairfield Mortgage in Gainesville. 

Cooke is a member of the First Baptist Church of Commerce where she previously served as youth parents chair and co-chaired the inaugural day-long effort to help the needy in the local area. She also is a member of a local theater troupe, "Cold Sassy Players," and has participated as an actress and technician for several plays. Both of her daughters attended UGA, Christy Epps (BSFCS '04) and Dana Lea Westmoreland (AB '07).