In August 2007, Barry Cooper became the Regional Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Great Lakes Region, which has responsibility for the FAA’s aviation-related work in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. As Regional Administrator, Barry serves as the FAA’s primary representative and liaison regarding aviation issues and activities within the Great Lakes Region.
Prior to assuming his Regional Administrator position, Barry served as the FAA’s program manager and principal representative for the City of Chicago’s O’Hare Modernization Program, a multi-billion dollar airport development initiative that will increase capacity and reduce delays at our nation’s second busiest airport. In this capacity, Barry coordinated the FAA’s internal efforts to meet all commitments and milestones associated with the O’Hare modernization initiative, while also interfacing extensively with the FAA’s external customers, including the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, Congressional representatives, news media outlets, and civic groups.
Barry’s career in Federal service has spanned 31 years. He began his FAA career as a civil engineer, performing design work on FAA facilities that support our nation’s air traffic control system. Throughout a majority of his tenure with the FAA, Barry has served in a number of management positions in various organizations within the FAA’s Great Lakes Region. His responsibilities in these positions have included both technical and administrative program areas, including such areas as design and operation of the National Airspace System infrastructure, airport design standards, safety of airport operations, fiscal management, logistics support, and labor management relations.
Barry is a 1976 graduate of the University of Massachusetts, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, and he is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Illinois. He and his wife Laura reside in suburban Chicago and have three children.