Dr. Ada Cooper

Dentist and lawyer Dr. Ada Cooper was born in New York, New York to Dr. H.H. Cooper, Jr. and Edith Blue Cooper. Cooper graduated from Stuyvesant High School and earned her B.A. degree cum laude in political science at Amherst College. She was awarded the John Woodruff Simpson Fellowship in Law to attend Harvard Law School where she obtained her J.D. degree. Cooper completed her D.D.S. degree at New York University College of Dentistry.

Cooper began her legal career as a litigator at the law firm of Jenner & Block, and then worked as an associate in the litigation section of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue in New York. Cooper returned to Jenner & Block and was later named a partner. After thirteen years in the legal profession, Cooper returned to school to study dentistry. Not long after graduating from the New York University College of Dentistry, Cooper was selected to be a national spokesperson and consumer advisor for the American Dental Association (ADA). Cooper made appearances on The Dr. Oz Show, CNN, NBC’s Today show, and NBC’s Nightly News with Brian Williams. She was also quoted in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Women’s Health magazine, and numerous other print and digital media outlets. She also opened her own dental practice.

Cooper served as a member of the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section and Corporate Counsel Committee, as well as the United States District court, Northern District of Illinois, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She was the Treasurer of the New York County Dental Society. Cooper served on various boards and committees of the New York County Dental Society including the Board of Trustees, the Finance Committee, the Membership Committee, Peer Review Committee, and the Nominating Committee. Her other dental society memberships were the American Dental Association, the New York State Dental Association, and the Greater New York Dental Meeting. Cooper also was an associate fellow at the New York Academy of Dentistry and a fellow of the International College of Dentists.

She also served as a member of the NIDCR “PEARL” Protocol Review Committee and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Boys Club of New York. Cooper received many awards and honors, including the American College of Dentists’ “Outstanding Achievement Award” and the New York University “Key Pin Award for Outstanding Achievement.” She was inducted into the Omicron Kappa Upsilon Honor Dental Society.

Cooper resides in New York.

Dr. Ada Cooper was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on September 23, 2016.