Laura Cooper

Laura Katherine Cooper (born 1974) is an American civil servant. Ms. Cooper is the 2023 Federal Employee of the Year (Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals), awarded by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service to celebrate excellence in the U.S. federal civil service. She is Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian affairs in the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and a career member of the Senior Executive Service (SES). In 2023, she was honored with the Presidential Rank Distinguished Executive Award, the highest annual award for career SES members. She previously served as principal director in the office of the Homeland Defense and Global Security Affairs.

Cooper testified to the United States Congress's House Intelligence Committee during a closed-door hearing on October 23, 2019; this committee gathered information relevant to impeachment proceedings involving U.S. President Donald Trump. She also testified on November 20, 2019, in an open hearing to that same committee.