PSA Announces New Director

PSA announces the selection of Leslie C. Cooper, Esq., as its new Director. Ms. Cooper was selected after an extensive search by US Court of Appeals Chief Judge Merrick Garland and US District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell, in consultation with the PSA Executive Committee. Ms. Cooper fills this position after the retirement of Clifford T. Keenan.

Over the last six years, Ms. Cooper has been at the forefront of moving PSA towards being an evidence–based and data driven agency, as demonstrated in her previous roles as Associate Director and Deputy Director for PSA.  

Ms. Cooper began her federal career as a Program Analyst with the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) in 1998. From there, she moved into progressively responsible positions, including Program Manager and Deputy Associate Director for Community Justice Programs. During her time with CSOSA, she established the Treatment Management Team and was a key leader in the activation and opening of the Re-Entry and Sanctions Center (RSC). She also was responsible for a host of other programs and services, including substance use disorder treatment; community relations; educational and vocational support; violence reduction programming; community service; mentoring; and victim services.  

In 2008, Ms. Cooper accepted a senior leadership position with the US Department of Labor, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, where she handled a diverse portfolio of regulatory and programmatic policy, and completed work on a number of the initial regulations to implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obama Care”).  This work, in addition to her previous experience, added a significant component to the solid foundation she brought to PSA when she joined us in 2011 as the Associate Director for Operations.

Leslie received her Bachelor of Science degree from Howard University and her Juris Doctor from The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. She is a member of the bar associations of Maryland and the District of Columbia.  

In her new position as PSA Director, she will continue to lead in a direction not only to enhance our reputation as the premier pretrial justice organization in the country, but also to ensure that the services the Agency provides to our criminal justice stakeholders and client population are of the highest quality.