Nashville, TN (TN Tribune)–Mayor John Cooper has named Tom Jurkovich as Senior Advisor for Public Affairs, effective August 9, 2021.
Jurkovich will provide strategic leadership in communications, community outreach, issue management, and coalition building as part of the effort to advance the mayor’s priorities on a range of policy areas, including transportation, sustainability, affordable housing and economic development.
He brings more than 35 years of experience in local and national public affairs to the mayor’s staff.
“As we create a Nashville that works for everyone, we need experienced and effective ambassadors and community builders to take that work further and deeper into all dimensions across the city,” Mayor Cooper said. “Tom has a long and proven track record and is deeply invested in our community’s success. He brings high-level skills and experiences that are well suited to serve our mission.”
Jurkovich joins the mayor’s staff from the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA), where he served as Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs since 2015 and directed the team responsible for the airport’s communications, public and media relations, and government affairs.
During that time, Nashville International Airport (BNA) launched a major expansion and redevelopment program, known as “BNA Vision,” and generated more than $9.9 billion in economic impact in 2019 alone according to a recent study by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
“Our cities are where the work gets done – where problems get solved and our nation’s future is built,” Jurkovich said. “Nashville is poised for a new era of growth and progress, and I am grateful to Mayor Cooper for the opportunity to contribute to that effort and serve our community.”
Jurkovich previously served as Director of the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Community Development from 2002-2007, where he acted as liaison to the business community and as the city’s chief corporate recruiter. Nashville was twice named the “Hottest City” in America by Expansion Management magazine during that period for its success in securing the relocation of major company headquarters such as Asurion, Caremark, Clarcor, Louisiana-Pacific, and Nissan North America among others.
Jurkovich began his career as a litigator with the law firm of Fulbright and Jaworski in Houston, Texas. His national public service includes stints as staff director for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on House Administration and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs for the U.S. Department of Commerce. He later did a turn as a government relations director for Microsoft Corporation before returning to his hometown of Nashville.
He is a graduate of McGavock High School and Vanderbilt University and earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law, where he was executive editor of the law review.
