Ilene Cooper Named Volunteer of the Year by the Times Beacon Record: Children, Charities Benefit From Her Perseverance

December 29, 2010

Sandra Day O’Connor turned down eight invitations from Ilene Cooper to speak at a Suffolk County Bar Association luncheon before the former U.S. Supreme Court justice finally caved.

“She raised the white flag and said, ‘OK, I’ll come’,” said John Barnosky, who like Cooper is a partner in trusts and estates at the law firm Farrell Fritz.

As Justice O’Connor started her speech, she said that when someone looks up perseverance in the dictionary, Cooper’s picture is found. “She just always gets her way,” Barnosky said. “She sets her eyes on a goal and she doesn’t give up until she accomplishes it.”

Cooper’s goals and accomplishments are many. In the legal world, she was the third woman in 101 years to serve as president of the Suffolk County Bar Association. “She likes to break glass ceilings,” her husband, Mitch, said.

Cooper is set to become chair of the New York State Bar Association in 2012; is author of two books and has edited and contributed content to various publications; has served on countless committees, and is an adjunct professor at Touro Law School.

But outside of those professional achievements, she has also dedicated much of her time to helping others, especially children.

Cooper is a board member of several organizations, such as the Suffolk County Child Care Council, Child Abuse Prevention Services, the Corporate Alliance of the Children’s Medical Fund — which raises money for the Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York — and the Suffolk County Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Using her legal prowess, she had a hand in authoring a piece of state legislation which cuts the inheritance rights of confirmed child abusers if the child in question dies.

“People do things for different reasons and I think anyone who helps out for an organization should get something back too — you know, feel good about themselves,” said Jo Anne Sanders, executive director of the Coalition Against Domestic Violence. But with Cooper, she said, the focus is not on her. “She doesn’t look for a lot of praise or special thanks.”

Rita Kay, a former executive director of the Children’s Medical Fund, said Cooper is “like a mother bear.” As a board member for CMF’s Corporate Alliance, Cooper raised money for the Cohen Children’s Medical Center, based in New Hyde Park, by holding a fundraising breakfast.

Why does she do it?

“I think it’s her love of children,” Kay said, and “she’s a very devoted mother.”

Cooper, a resident of Dix Hills for 22 years, and Mitch have two sons. Jared, 23, is on the road to medical school and Alexander, 20, is a junior at Union College in Schenectady. With all of the volunteering, “it’s funny. You think, how do you have time to be a mother?” Jared said. “I couldn’t ask for a better one. I don’t think one exists.”

Part of Cooper’s secret might be in how little she sleeps.

Mitch said that she gets about six hours of pillow time per night and if she’s not awake by 6 am, something is wrong. She doesn’t nap and “when she’s up, she has to be productive.”

Charles Strain, managing partner at Farrell Fritz, said, “Ilene is the kind of prototypical energizer bunny.”

She got her start volunteering in her teens. Her father, a pediatrician, is one of the founders of Franklin General Hospital, where Cooper volunteered as a candy striper. Now 56, she is still involved in charity work for hospitals.

In all of her endeavors, Cooper is known for giving only her best. Kay said when Cooper is working on a project, “you know it’s going to be done completely perfect from A to Z.”

Lawrence Raful, a dean at Touro Law, said that he thinks Cooper deserves recognition for all her work.

“I’m an old-fashioned ’60s liberal and I still believe in role models,” Raful said. “I guess it’s out of vogue now, for some reason. … Everyone needs them.” Cooper is one of those people to look up to, he said, because she is very accomplished and juggles many tasks, yet always remains nice. To achieve everything she has, “interestingly enough, you don’t have to be an SOB.”

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