Susan M. Cooley

Susan M. Cooley, PhD, RN, CPNP
Recipient of Distinguished Alumni Award

Dr. Susan M. Cooley is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and the Vice President for Clinical Services for RediClinic, one of the nation’s largest providers of retail-based convenient health care services. After having been a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston for over 30 years, Dr. Cooley retired in 2007. She holds academic degrees including a BSN from The University of Texas at Austin and a MPH from The University of Texas at Houston. She received her PNP from University of California, San Francisco and completed her PhD in Nursing at Texas Woman’s University. Dr. Cooley’s first nursing job, at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Haiti, prepared her for a career working with needy families. In Houston, Dr. Cooley helped create a model health care system that pair’s health related programs in order to increase access to healthcare for indigent Hispanic children. In 1995, Susan Cooley received the first grant that brought Reach Out and Read a national pediatric literacy program, to Texas. Under her direction, the Texas ROR program has raised over $5,000,000 in grant funding and has grown to include over 175 programs, reaching over 250,000 children annually. Dr. Cooley played an instrumental role in Houston’s relief efforts during Hurricane Katrina. She is involved in numerous community organizations including St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities, Harris County Hospital District Foundation, Lord of the Streets, and Bo’s Place: Center for Grieving Children.