ABOUT US

MEET ALYSIA

Alysia A. Cook, PCED, IOM

Principal of Opportunity Strategies LLC; a customized training, professional facilitation, and strategic planning firm for community and economic development.

Alysia At A Glance

High energy level to keep participants enthusiastic, on-track, and results-focused
Helps the group excel as a team
Effectively manages individual and group dysfunctions
Uses a proven approach for success
Has many repeat clients and regular referrals
Respects the expectation of being a neutral party
Will offer advice and recommendations if/when that is part of the assignment; otherwise provides neutral services
Extensive experience working with strong personalities including elected/appointed officials, vocal citizens, teenagers, protestors, and executives
Uses a proven approach for success
Nimble… able to shift gears quickly to adapt to changing situations

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Alysia's clients include local and state governments, economic development organizations, chambers of
commerce, utilities, associations, and community nonprofits. For over 30 years, Alysia has trained
thousands of economic development board and staff members, elected officials, and other community
and tribal leaders.

She has extensive experience developing strategic plans for those clients to help them achieve their
goals. She has designed and presented hundreds of training programs for elected officials, community leaders, adult and youth leadership groups, business owners, staff, and volunteers. Her programs are designed to improve operations and relations within organizations, as well as improve communities and help them attract and retain quality businesses and workforce.

Alysia is an international public speaker. She has served many communities throughout the U.S. and Caribbean. She has led the public input process for numerous town hall meetings and public hearings for economic development and strategic planning projects. She has served as a curriculum developer and instructor at the IEDC-sanctioned Texas Basic Economic Development Course (for over 20 years) and the Community Development Institute, and is on the faculty of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management. She is a member of the Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC), the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), the
Texas Economic Development Council (TEDC), the Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives (TCCE), and recently served as a board member on the Texas Downtown Association (TXD). She has completed the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.

A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Alysia graduated from Louisiana State University in Shreveport, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing. She is a 1995 graduate of the Basic Economic Development Course at Texas A&M University, a 1997 graduate of the Economic Development Institute (EDI) at the University of Oklahoma, a 2002 graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Organization Management (IOM/Chamber Institute), and a 2009 graduate of Community Development Institute (CDI). Alysia earned her Professional Community & Economic Developer (PCED) certification in 2009 from the Community Development Council.