Program

Ethics, Optimism, and Relationships: Keys to Courageous Research

Danielle T. Cooper, PhD, CPP is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and the Director of Research at the Tow Youth Justice Institute at the University of New Haven. She additionally serves as the Chair of the Criminal Justice Undergraduate Committee and Co-Chair of the IDEA Council. Dr. Cooper received her B.S. in Justice Systems (with a minor in Business Administration) in 2009, her M.A. in Criminology from the University of Florida in 2011, and her Ph.D. in Criminology (with a minor in Organizational Leadership for Nonprofits) from the University of Florida in 2015. She is also a Certified Prevention Professional (certified in FL and CT) who works with nonprofits and community organizations as a prevention trainer and evaluation consultant. For more than 15 years, she has been conducting research and teaching in the areas of youths and young adults, juvenile justice and delinquency prevention, criminological theory, and sex offending. As a committed Educator, Researcher, and Preventionist, she brings her expertise to various practical discussions on juvenile justice policy reform, the experiences of individuals committing sexual offenses, and police-authority dynamics within fragile and marginalized communities. Through her work with the local community, she has collaborated with key stakeholders, such as youth and their parents, young adults, educators, law enforcement, mental health professionals, and youth serving organizations. Over the past few years, Dr. Cooper has been honored with the 2019 Faculty of the Year Award, 2021 MO-KAN-NE TRIO Achiever Alumni Award, the 2021 Faculty Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging Award, and the 2022 Martin Luther King, Jr. Vision Faculty Award. She also completed her two-year role as one of four inaugural Faculty Teaching Fellows for the Center for Teaching Excellence appointed in 2021. Most recently, in 2024, she was awarded a fellowship to participate in the Faculty Leadership Program hosted by the RAND Pardee Graduate School.