Staff Spotlight: Leigh Cooper

Leigh Cooper is the School-Age Program Director at the TJS Englewood campus. She has a Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology from Tufts University, a Master of Science in Neuroscience and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) through Florida Institute of Technology.

She joined TJS in 2021, after moving to Denver from New York City. She has 11 years of hands-on experience in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) through serving in various roles in the New York City Autism Charter Schools, where she worked closely with school-age students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families. She began as a classroom teacher and eventually after completing her graduate degree, took on the role of Clinical Supervisor, where she oversaw programming and classroom training. When asked what brought her to TJS, Leigh said after having grown up on the east coast, she has “always dreamed of having a different style/pace of life.” Leigh was approached by TJS and came to Colorado to visit. She explained, “The community [at TJS] is unbelievably welcoming and they share the same love and admiration for the students with each other.”

Now that Leigh has been a part of the TJS team for awhile, we asked her what she loves about TJS the most so far. She said, “I love that everything I felt on that first visit has remained true. It can be intimidating to join a community with such strong roots, especially in a leadership position. I have never felt that. I feel like I have been here forever and so much of my transition and love for Denver has to do with the support I have received from the TJS staff outside of work. It truly is such a special place. Every day starts and ends with huge smiles from staff and students and I couldn’t ask for more than that.” TJS is ecstatic about the contributions Leigh has made in her role. Moving forward, Leigh says she is looking forward to continuing to develop programming and staff development opportunities. She adds, “There are so many incredible teachers here who are excited to keep learning and growing professionally and I'm excited to collaborate on how we can further enhance our programming and maximize the time we have with our kiddos...” TJS is so lucky to have Leigh as part of its team.