Cotter formerly led the Atlanta Home Builders Association as president. He has a B.S. from Auburn University and an M.B.A. from Samford University, and he is the founder of Peachtree Residential Group, a home-building firm. Douglas Cotter, Jr., a licensed contractor in Georgia and Florida, has managed projects in DeKalb, Illinois, and elsewhere at the same time. He's lately moved into North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and in 2022, he'll extend into Florida.