Don Cooper – Bio

Don Cooper is the Director of Civic Initiatives at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation. In that capacity he leads the civic and educational programs at the DeVos Learning Center that inspire and shape our nation’s next generation of civic leaders.

He brings 20 years’ experience in education policy and charter schools to that position, and a passion for achieving great results for kids.

Don’s experience is diverse, ranging from serving as staff in the Michigan House of Representatives, to senior-level public and government affairs positions for leading charter authorizing bodies and a premier management organization, to leadership in one of the nation’s most longstanding charter support organization.

Don’s work has primarily focused on system-level change that empowers parents with more and better choices through innovations in public policy and more effective approaches to governance. His legislative experience includes the elimination of charter caps in multiple states, the creation of new entities to authorize public charter schools, and creating a more permeable membrane between K-12 and postsecondary systems. He has also been involved in the launch of more than a dozen schools, both while in school management and as an authorizer, and turnaround efforts at several others.

In partnership with the sponsor of the nation’s first charter schools law, Don helped found and serves as a Senior Fellow of the National Charter Schools Founders Library. The Library's purpose is to collect and preserve oral histories and original source documents of one of the nation.

Don currently serves on the America250MI Committee and the board of directors of the Michigan History Foundation (2015-Present). He has served on the boards of Jackson Preparatory and Early College, Michigan Political History Society (board member emeritus), Michigan Association of Public School Academies, Greater Lansing Sports Fund, and the Kiwanis Club of Pleasant Valley, NY.

Don earned a Master of Public Administration from Central Michigan University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Hillsdale College. He has completed executive training in charter leadership at Harvard University. He is currently working towards a Ph.D. in Political Science at Wayne State University.

He lives in East Lansing, Michigan.