To our friends and colleagues, it is with mixed emotions that we announce that UC Berkeley Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) Co-director Jill Cooper will be retiring from UC Berkeley on June 29th after 23 years of service.
Clockwise from top left: SafeTREC Co-directors David Ragland, Jill Cooper and Offer Grembek; Katherine Chen and Jill Cooper presenting at the 2017 TRB Annual Meeting; Jill Cooper and Kate Beck at a tabling event for Street Story in Berkeley, CA; SafeTREC Staff group photo. (Photo: SafeTREC)
Partnering to advance equity across transportation
Recognized for her inspiring and dedicated leadership to advance equity across transportation, Jill has worked with partners at the community, regional, state and national level to improve traffic safety and well-being for people of all ages and abilities through her research, education, and public service. Jill was recently honored for this vital work by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at the 2023 Lifesavers Conference in Seattle, Washington with a 2023 NHTSA Public Service Award for the meaningful difference her public service and contributions have made for communities in saving lives, reducing injuries, and preventing crashes through the Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Training (CPBST) Program.
Recipients of the 2023 NHTSA Public Service Awards at the Livesavers Conference in Seattle, Washington (Photo: Jill Cooper)
She launched the CPBST program at SafeTREC, a partnership with California Walks (CalWalks) and funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety. The program has served nearly 120 underserved communities in California, and works to strengthen collaboration between all safety partners, and collectively develop a community driven safety action plan. "In the last year the elements and principles of the Safe System Approach were adopted for the program, affirming that everyone should have access to safe, public spaces, streets and transportation choices. Equity is integrated into all layers of her work, addressing historical disinvestment and institutional biases," noted NHTSA Highway Safety Specialist Caroline Cash during the award citations.
On June 12, 2023 the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) honored Jill with a 2023 Traffic Safety Excellence award in recognition of her exceptional performance, outstanding contributions, and dedicated service.
Jill’s outstanding dedication, support, and outreach to save lives by improving local road safety in the State of California was also honored in 2016 when she received the Institute for Transportation Studies (ITS) Service to Community Award for her achievements and research, vision, and dedication in support of the Institute
“From the early days of SafeTREC, I have been fortunate to work with colleagues and partners who were very clear that focusing on safe, accessible, and equitable transportation - especially for and with those most vulnerable to injury - was what mattered most," shared Jill Cooper.
Jill received her MSW from the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare and came to UC Berkeley SafeTREC (then, the Traffic Safety Center) in 2000. Since 2014, she has been Co-director and responsible for directing multidisciplinary research and project development. She leads highway safety planning projects for state transportation agencies; pedestrian and bicycle safety planning, and community engagement projects. Jill also directs statewide stakeholder engagement efforts addressing data collection, data governance, and planning. She serves as liaison to funders, governmental agencies, private firms, and community groups.
Jill also mentored and inspired many students over the years, shaping their journey while at Berkeley and encouraging their interests in traffic safety research and practice.
We share our warmest thanks, appreciation and admiration from our students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends with Jill for her leadership, mentorship and many contributions to the public health and traffic safety field. We will miss her and wish Jill all the best as she embarks on this new chapter.
