Mary Coogan

Posted on November 25, 2020

Mary became President and CEO of ACNJ at the start of 2023 after becoming the vice president in 2003. She joined the organization in 1993 to head what is now known as ACNJ’s KidLaw Resource Center, which provides information on laws and legal processes affecting New Jersey children.

Mary’s primary policy areas include foster care, kinship care, children’s health, and more recently, juvenile justice. She has authored guides and articles on child welfare-related topics, including the Kinship Legal Guardianship Guide, and has represented ACNJ as amicus curiae before the NJ Supreme Court in several cases. Mary is a member of the New Jersey Children in Court Improvement Committee, the NJ Medical Assistance Advisory Council, the New Jersey Council for Juvenile Justice System Improvement and its School/Justice Partnership Subcommittee, and the NJ Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect. Recently, she was appointed Acting Co-Chair for the NJ Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect. She previously chaired the Child Welfare Section and the Pro Bono Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Prior to joining ACNJ in 1993, Mary practiced family law in New Jersey. She received both her J.D. and B.A. from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.