Mary Hutchings Cooper (MBA ’91)

Product Manager Recognized for Outstanding Volunteerism

Earlier this year, Galveston native Mary Hutchings Cooper (MBA '91) was selected as one of the New York Junior League's 2008 Outstanding Volunteers. The New York Junior League (NYJL) is an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable, and it has been a positive force for change in New York for over 100 years. Cooper and four other volunteers were honored at the New York Junior League's 2008 Winter Ball on March 1 for exemplifying the Junior League's historic and exceptional commitment to volunteerism and the community.

Since joining the NYJL in 1986, Sooper's community involvement has included working with teenagers in Harlem to pursue potential careers in the arts and media and helping teenage mothers with family life skills. One of her favorite projects is the Playground Improvement Project, in which the NYJL annually renovates a community playground somewhere in New York City over five weekends in the Spring. In September 2005, she applied her training from this project to build houses for the homeless of Sri Lanka following the devastating tsunami that struck the island nation the previous December.

Cooper has also served the NYJL on a number of its committees. Currently, she serves as co-chair of the Recruiting committee as well as a Volunteer Development area associate and Board appointee to the Governance committee.

Cooper recently celebrated her 10th anniversary at Reuters America, in New York, where she is a product manager. She is active in the Reuters Women's Network, serves on the Reuters Community Events Week committee, and participates in the Reuters Reverse Diversity and Intern mentoring programs. Cooper has also participated in the SMU Cox School of Business student/alumni network, where students reach out to alumni for advice and mentoring.