Ms. Cassandra G. Cooper, MA, LCPC

Senior Policy Analyst

Cassandra Cooper is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for Innovation in Population Health at the University of Kentucky. She works with Illinois, South Carolina, and other states and jurisdictions nationwide, providing training and technical assistance to systems implementing the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS), Adults Needs and Strengths Assessment (ANSA), Family Advocacy and Support Tool (FAST) and Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management (TCOM).

Prior to coming to the University of Kentucky, Cassandra was a Senior Policy Analyst at Chapin Hall in Chicago, Illinois. She has served as an Implementation Support Training and Coaching Specialist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign under contract with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Division of the Office of Professional Development. In her role as a Trauma-Informed Practice Specialist and Learning Collaborative Facilitator, Cassandra served as a primary facilitator on the implementation of a family-centered, trauma-informed, strength-based model of practice. Cassandra trained, consulted, and coached on such subjects as complex trauma, the impact of trauma on children and families, vicarious trauma, the principles of evidence-based trauma intervention models, and the use of the CANS in treatment and service planning. She served six years as an adjunct professor at Chicago State University in the Psychology Department and taught trauma-informed courses on child abuse and neglect.

Cassandra holds a Master of Arts in Community Counseling Psychology from Loyola University of Chicago. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Fisk University in Nashville, TN. She is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the state of Illinois and a certified CANS assessor. She is currently a Ph.D. doctoral student in the Educational Leadership Program at the University of Kentucky.