Merissa Cooper joined CLC as their Youth Justice Policy Counsel in July 2025, where she will focus on advocacy to improve juvenile justice, child welfare, and criminal legal systems for Ohio youth through policy advocacy, direct representation services, and community outreach/education.

Prior to joining CLC, Merissa gained extensive trial advocacy experience through her work as an Assistant Prosecutor at the City of Cleveland Prosecutor's Office, in the Dedicated Domestic Violence Unit, and as a Staff Attorney for Medina County Job and Family Services, in the Protective Services Division. Through her work in both of these roles, Merissa gained valuable insight on the deficits, biases, and racial disparities that are systemically inherent in the legal system and dedicated herself to ensuring that civil rights are protected, that the voices of the youth, especially the voices of youth victims, are elevated and heard, that youth are treated equitably and fairly, and that they are afforded safety, stability, and quality legal representation of their own. Merissa intends to continue this mission through her work with CLC.

Merissa graduated from Marshall University in 2018, with a B.A. in Criminal

Justice/Criminology and a minor in Communications. In 2022, Merissa graduated cum laude from Cleveland State University College of Law and received recognition for her dedication to pro bona and volunteer work.

Merissa is a proud native Appalachian, born and raised in West Virginia. She currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio, with her partner and their three dogs, Copper, Charlie, and Phoenix, where they both enjoy volunteering with various community organizations in their spare time, including the Norman S. Minor Bar Association, Motogo Cleveland, City Dogs, and the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland.