Jen Cooper is the Senior Director of Research and Analytics with Heartland Alliance’s Social IMPACT Research Center. Jen brings extensive expertise in mixed methods research, evaluation and continuous quality improvement, non-profit capacity building, and change management. Jen uses her skills to transform the way data is used in the non-profit sector and loves to work with communities to harness the power of data to motivate impactful change. As a trained Epidemiologist, Jen spent over a decade leading large portfolios of research in Chicago and Africa focused on diabetes, cost-effectiveness, health services, adult and pediatric oncology, health equity, and institutional research impact. Jen was the evaluation lead and Site Director of Northwestern Medicine’s Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative, a tri-institutional team of researchers, community members, and medical trainees convened to combat Chicago's most disparate cancers.
Previously, Jen led the Research and Evaluation team at the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago where she grew the Y’s research and evaluation efforts to span three states, over 100 initiatives, and into areas never before assessed at the Y, such as digital inclusion and food security. She was also an integral member in the development and growth of the Y’s first Community Investment and Social Responsibility department and spearheaded national collective impact efforts across the YMCA movement. Jen is also a well-established author and presenter and has been invited to guest speak at venues across the nation, including the National Cancer Institute.
She holds a Master’s degree in Public Health with a focus in Epidemiology and Global Health from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor’s degree in Integrative Biology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. When not combating inequities through data, Jen enjoys searching for Chicago’s best Italian restaurants, exploring national parks with her family, and adding to her growing bucket list of travel destinations.
Jen Cooper is a 2022 grantee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Research in Transforming Health and Health Care Systems program, managed by AcademyHealth.