Rebekah Staples

Rebekah Staples is the founder and president of consulting firm Free State Strategies, which provides public policy, political strategy and communications advice to politicians and political candidates, universities, think tanks, companies, and non-profits. She also serves as chairman of the Capital Complex Improvement District Advisory Board, a group tasked with providing guidance to the state and the City of Jackson on how to utilize tax revenues for long-term strategic investments in infrastructure. She was recently named one of Mississippi’s Top 50 Most Influential in 2019 in the Business, Media and Culture category. Previously, Rebekah served as Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour’s policy director on issues including budget, finance, workforce and economic development, pension reform, and government efficiency. Rebekah used this experience to then serve as the policy director and later as the senior advisor to Lt. Governor Tate Reeves, assisting him with passage of major policy priorities and management of legislative committees. Rebekah holds a bachelor's degree from Mississippi College and a Master of Business Administration degree from Vanderbilt University. Rebekah is a Fellow of the second class of the Civil Society Fellowship, a Partnership of ADL and The Aspen Institute, and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.