Cindy Pereira Cooper joined The Lemelson Foundation in 2017 and today serves as a Senior Program Officer. She co-founded and leads Engineering for One Planet (EOP), the Foundation’s nationally-recognized effort to equip tomorrow’s engineers with the skills, knowledge, and understanding they need to protect our planet and the life it sustains. During her tenure, Cooper has served as a judge and reviewer for national and international innovation competitions and grant programs, including Mackenzie Scott’s 2023 Yield Giving Open Call. Additionally, she has been a keynote speaker, panelist, and moderator for national and global events.
Previously, Cooper served as the Executive Director of Portland State University’s Impact Entrepreneurs Program, which she co-founded. There, she taught social innovation and entrepreneurship and co-led PSU’s successful bid for recognition as an Ashoka U Changemaker Campus, developed social innovation incubation programs, and co-led the creation of the nation’s first online academic and professional certificate in social innovation and entrepreneurship. A social entrepreneur and 40 Under 40 Award winner, she also co-founded Speak Shop, the world’s first social enterprise for learning Spanish and Portuguese online by video conferencing with teachers in Latin America. Her work has been featured in Fast Company, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and NPR.
A Brazilian American, Cooper received a Global MBA with distinction from Thunderbird School of Global Management and a BA summa cum laude in Psychology and Spanish from Claremont McKenna College. She enjoys any time she can spend with her teenage daughter and experiencing the foods, beauty, and cultures of our world with her family.
