Brandi Lowell is the executive director of the Tennessee Business Forum and has unique legislative and executive branch, overseas, and private sector experience. Brandi has over a decade of Hill experience and brings policy and Chief of Staff experience after working for Members of Congress from the nation’s most competitive swing districts. In the Executive Branch, Brandi served the U.S. Embassy Mexico City as the Narcotics Affairs Section’s (NAS) public affairs officer. There she developed and managed the Embassy’s communications strategy for the $1.5 billion dollar Mérida Initiative, served on the Ambassador’s Narcotics Affairs Policy Team, prepared briefs for the Mexican Calderon administration, and authored content for congressional testimony by senior U.S. Department of State officials. Brandi was awarded the U.S. Department of State’s Meritorious Honor Award for outstanding performance. In the private sector, Brandi served as Director, Federal Governmental Affairs, for Duke Energy Corporation, a Fortune 125 company. There she worked to transform policy goals into legislative activities, managed a nearly $2 million PAC budget, briefed company executives including the CEO, and managed strategic association and consultant relationships on behalf of the company. Clients of The Ingram Group appreciate Brandi for her ability to design results-producing government affairs advocacy strategies, leverage strategic coalitions in pursuit of a shared objective, and develop communications plans that work across the political spectrum.

While Amanda Bunning Kelsey began her career in Washington working for U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R- KY) in his Senate Leadership office, her experience in politics began much earlier. Amanda is the granddaughter of former U.S. Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) and became interested and familiar with politics at a young age. Amanda joined the Ingram Group after extensive public and private sector work. She understands how things operate at the federal and state levels and knows how to get things done efficiently and effectively. Amanda advises a diverse set of clients by carrying out strategic educational campaigns and advocacy with members of Congress and the Executive Branch. She serves her clients in a number of ways, including: maintaining beneficial relationships, developing effective messaging products, preparing clients for congressional hearings, and activating grassroot campaigns or coalition building in support of advocacy efforts. Before joining the Group, Amanda served as the Director of Government Affairs for the American Conservative Union (ACU), which sponsors the largest and most influential political conference in the nation, CPAC. In her position, she managed the ACU Foundation’s ratings of Congress, the ratings of all 50 state legislatures, and the coordination of policy discussions at events across the country. Prior to her position at ACU, Amanda served on the Government Affairs team for Anheuser-Busch Companies. She supported the team’s efforts in articulating company positions to policymakers on a wide range of legislative and executive initiatives.

Capitol Hill veteran Tessa Berner possesses a diverse and valuable background in fields ranging from legislative affairs and foreign policy to finance and data analytics. Tessa joined The Ingram Group after serving as director of finance data at the Republican National Committee, where she led a team of analysts to develop data-driven fundraising strategies for members of Congress and congressional candidates. Tessa also has expertise in strategic fundraising, business development and policy research. She served as a research assistant at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels, where she analyzed geopolitical issues and contributed to reports on international security. She also interned with the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee under the leadership of former Chair Sen. Bob Corker, tracking legislation and preparing background materials for congressional hearings. Tessa attended the University of Tennessee, earning a bachelor’s degree in business marketing and international relations. With expertise in innovative data solutions, data visualization, financial modeling, and policy research, Tessa brings a results-driven approach to clients of The Ingram Group.  

Dustin Summers joined The Ingram Group after serving in multiple leadership capacities across the healthcare sector. Summers served as the Vice President of Partnerships at Main Street Health, a high-growth startup company focused on value-based care (VBC) in rural communities. In this role, he worked with rural primary care providers as they navigated challenges and opportunities associated with care delivery. Dustin has also represented over 200 health care providers as the Executive Director of the West Tennessee Physicians’ Alliance (WTPA), and served as the Chief Executive Officer of West Tennessee Clinical Partners, a Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) that generated over $40 million in healthcare savings between 2018 and 2021. While in Washington, D.C., Summers served as the Development Manager for Young Invincibles, a non-profit dedicated to advancing opportunities for underrepresented young people, and worked for the National Rural Health Association as their Policy and Program Services Manager where he coordinated the efforts of state-based rural health initiatives on behalf of 20,000 rural health stakeholders. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee-Martin and holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Lipscomb University in Nashville. He earned an additional Master’s Degree in Public Health with an emphasis in Global Health from George Washington University. Summers is a native of Paris, Tennessee and a resident of Chattanooga.

Laurel Beth McPherson is an active CPA with experience in both internal, external, and international accounting, including tax and internal audit. Most recently, she was a member of the internal audit department at HCA Healthcare, where she oversaw accounts receivable valuation processes and financial statement and internal control audits for various lines of business. During her time with HCA, she spent two years on rotation in London, England working exclusively with the company’s UK division. She started her career with PwC where she prepared tax filings for public and private corporations and partnerships.

Laurel Beth attended the University of Tennessee where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s degree in accounting. She and her husband, Ryan, have one son.

Margo Ingram-Edwards joined The Ingram Group in 2017 after a three-year stint as a small business owner and operator in Knoxville, Tennessee. She serves many roles in The Ingram Group, including, but not limited to, being Chief Administrative Officer, in-house Graphic Designer, Executive Assistant to The Group’s CEO, and a general Staff Assistant. As CAO, she oversees staff, and office management, and helps create and implement internal initiatives. As Executive Assistant, she fully manages the Group’s Founder and CEO’s schedule, serves as his proxy when appropriate, and assists in client-related projects to help him fulfill his duties. Margo’s favorite area of expertise is serving as our internal graphic designer to turn ideas and projects into easily digestible and visually interesting information by ways of creating one-pagers for Hill days, convention reports, PowerPoint presentations, logos and websites, infographics, event branding and more.