Benita was born in Simon’s Town, South Africa, and raised in Durban. She immigrated to Georgia in 1986, finding the safer life she sought for her family. She lived in Cobb County until moving to Sky Valley permanently in 2022. She and her husband, Scott, fell in love with the serenity of “Georgia’s Highest and Coolest City.”
Benita’s career spans journalism, public policy, and communications consulting. She is the founder of High Grounds Consulting LLC, a boutique policy and communications firm based in Sky Valley,
Benita spent 13 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She left the Editorial Board of the AJC in 2003 to become Vice President of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. There, she led environmental initiatives on water, air, land use, energy, and transportation, while also overseeing communications and media relations. She left the Foundation in 2021 and launched High Grounds Consulting in 2022.
A 2007 alumnus of Leadership Georgia, Benita has been actively involved in civic and policy organizations, including:
- The Political Science Advisory Board at Kennesaw State University
- Board of Governors, Georgia Charter Schools Association
- First Generation Americans Foundation Board member
- U.S. Civil Rights Commission’s Advisory Task Force for Georgia
- Visiting Fellow at the Badger Institute
- Policy Advisor for the Heartland Institute
- Boards of America’s Future Foundation Georgia and Common Cause Georgia
- Faculty member at the Leadership Institute
Benita and her husband, Scott, bought their home in Sky Valley in 2018 from Rogers Wade, a close friend and former CEO of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. After living in Sky Valley during COVID, they sold their home in Cobb County in 2022. Their children and grandchildren are frequent visitors, enjoying the peace and change of pace from the “Big City.”
“I’m running for mayor to preserve the heart and future of Georgia’s Highest and Coolest City. Sky Valley’s sense of community is what makes it so special. I want to ensure we protect that as we address today’s challenges with practical solutions.”
Benita Cotton-Orr