Donna Cooper was Pennsylvania Secretary of Planning and Policy and was a member of the cabinet of Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell.
[2] She first began working for Ed Rendell as deputy mayor for Policy and Planning during his tenure as Mayor of Philadelphia.
[2] She was also named one of the state's "Most Politically Powerful Women.
"[7] In a 2009 article, The Philadelphia Inquirer said that Cooper was one of the "chief architects of state policy and a key player behind the crafting of a state budget" and that "she wields tremendous power and is a natural lightning rod for criticism.
"[3] In November 2010, Cooper joined the Center for American Progress as a senior policy fellow on their economic policy team.