Ashley Cooper

Ashley Cooper is a Research Analyst at the Morrison Institute for Public Policy. In this role, she works on public-facing mixed-method research that investigates and contextualizes policy issues affecting Arizonans. She is currently working with the Arizona Research Center for Housing Equity and Sustainability (ARCHES) on projects related to affordable housing, housing for aging populations, and demographic homeownership gaps in Arizona. 

Prior to joining the Morrison Institute, Ashley was a Research Specialist Principal at the Center for Work and Democracy at ASU. Her work there focused on labor, healthcare, racial justice, and other issues significant to working people. She has previously worked as a research fellow with American Friends Service Committee of Arizona on the impacts of sentencing policy and as a legal intern with the ACLU of Arizona. 

Ashley earned her Ph.D. in Justice and Social Inquiry in the School of Social Transformation. Her dissertation, titled "'Love and Affection from the House of Correction': A People's History of Organizing for Dignity in Arizona Prisons," explores the evolution of the Parsons v. Ryan class action lawsuit regarding prison medical care, conditions, and solitary confinement from the perspective of imprisoned women through archival, convivial, and historical sources.