Chapter: Cleveland
Name: Jackie Cooper
Company: The Ruhlin Company
Position: Project Controls Manager
OCA Cleveland Chapter Chair Jackie Cooper is hoping to continue to expand on the course she once took – and continues to take – in increasing association members’ involvement.
“One of my big focuses for the Cleveland Chapter is getting more involvement and new people at events,” said Cooper, a Project Controls Manager for the The Ruhlin Company. “I would like to have the consistent attendees bring someone new from their company to an event. That is how I got involved with the OCA and I would love to see our active members continue to pass it down.”
Cooper believes OCA’s network of local chapters is vital in not only building participation but also consensus, saying, “With the nine chapters OCA has, they are able to bring the voices of all the different areas together to have a concise, profound voice in the industry.”
After receiving her civil engineering degree from Case Western Reserve University, Cooper, who has been with The Ruhlin Company for 12 years, got involved in OCA. “I like to be able to make an impact on the area I work and live in! The OCA is a great platform to be able to do that … I was lucky enough that Ruhlin has supported me in attending events.” In addition to her participation in the Cleveland Chapter, which she has been involved in since early in her career, Cooper has participated in OCA’s Future Leaders Program – which led her to helping form the OCA Young Professional Networking Program – and she serves as a member of the OCA Hall of Fame Scholarship Review Committee.
Cooper, who grew up in the Minneapolis area, is also active in industry-related groups outside OCA, as she currently chairs the Marketing and Fundraising Committee for Akron Canton Builds. Akron Canton Builds is a non-profit program focused on getting high school students educated and interested in the skilled trades and unions.
In her first year as Cleveland Chapter chair, Cooper is proud to announce the chapter’s completion of its first service project since the COVID pandemic. The project featured construction of a bus turn-around in Parma for an area organization exposing inner-city students to nature. “The whole Cleveland Chapter Committee really showed up to get this project completed,” she said. Cooper is also excited about the group’s upcoming Winter Holiday Event. “Look for more details to come!” she said.