Pope's nomination by President George W. Bush received unanimous confirmation from the U.S. Senate, and she was sworn into office on February 3, 2003.

Pope served in the cabinet of Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, a state regulatory agency with broad responsibilities for licensing and regulation of over 97 professions and commercial activities; and as the executive director of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission, which supports development of the state's music recording and film industries.

In the private sector, Pope has served as president of Proffitt's of the Tri-Cities, Inc., a division of Saks, Inc., and prior to that as president/chief executive officer for the Parks-Belk Company, a department store group located in northeast Tennessee.

A graduate of Vanderbilt University and the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University, Pope is admitted to practice law in Tennessee and the District of Columbia. She grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Following law school, Pope clerked for U.S. District Judge James D. Todd in Jackson, Tennessee, and was an associate attorney with Webster, Chamberlain, and Bean in Washington, D.C.

Pope has served on numerous public and private boards of directors, including the boards of Bank of Tennessee; the Watkins School of Art and Design; and the Johnson City, Tennessee, Chamber of Commerce; and she is past president of the Arts Council of Greater Kingsport, Tennessee.

Governor Sundquist appointed Pope to his Council on Excellence in Higher Education and his Commission on Practical Government. She was chairman of the 1997 Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame for Tri-Cities Tennessee/Virginia. She is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and the Country Music Association.