Jody Hedeman Couser joined Chesapeake Conservancy in 2015 and oversees policy, government relations and communications.

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Previously, she served on the cabinet for Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens as director of communications and as public information officer for the American Medical Association (AMA). While working for the National Association of Police Organizations, Couser served as the congressional and White House liaison and managed communications and development. Couser was the principal of River Bay Communications, LLC. She was press secretary for a Maryland gubernatorial candidate, worked on several political campaigns in Maryland and Virginia and served as a consultant for one of the two major U.S. political parties. She started her career at The Kamber Group in Washington, D.C.

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She recently served as co-chair of the Maryland Commission for Climate Change Education, Communication and Outreach Work Group. She is a former president of the Maryland Professional Chapter of the Association of Women in Communications and the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

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She has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Roanoke College and a master’s degree in political management from The George Washington University.

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Couser lives in Annapolis with her husband, two daughters, Labrador retriever and Caribbean potcake rescue dog. She enjoys traveling, boating on the Chesapeake Bay and has a knack for finding arrowheads. She is a volunteer for the SPCA of Anne Arundel County. A dedicated public access advocate, for the past six years, Couser has been on a quest to visit every beach in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Follow her adventures on her website, Chesapeake Beaches.