DIRECTORS & STAFF

Donald Cooper, PhD, MBA, CSP

Dr. Cooper retired in 2023 as the Director of Public Safety for the City of Tallmadge in Northeast Ohio. He also retired in 2012 as the Ohio State Fire Marshal after serving in the fire-rescue-emergency medical service since 1980. Dr. Cooper is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), OSHA Authorized General Industry Trainer, Managing Editor of the Event Safety Guide, and chairs the Event Safety Working Group, one of the several committees established by the ESTA Technical Standards Program to develop industry safety standards. He is the author of and contributor to several well-known books and served as Event Safety Alliance’s first Executive Director from 2014-2025.

Dr. Cooper is a Course Developer and Instructor for the University of California San Diego’s Event Safety Certificate program and has served as a safety advisor for a wide range of concerts and festivals. His emergency management consulting work encompasses conducting vulnerability assessments, quality assurance audits, special event planning, and post-incident assessments for a wide range of entities.