About me
Shelby Cooley leads the evaluation team at King County's Children, Youth and Young Adults Division, where she oversees internal evaluation, community collaborative research, and accountability reporting on regional investments in child care, youth development, and reconnection to work and school.
She grew up in Southeast Seattle to K-12 educator parents working in Renton and Kent, an upbringing that shaped her lifelong commitment to serving the communities that raised her. Before joining King County, she led culturally responsive, equitable evaluations in youth-development and data-capacity projects at Education Northwest, and previously directed Seattle Public Schools' first research portfolio focused on the district's equity strategy for Black student success. As research director at the Community Center for Education Results, she developed public reporting systems and collaborative research initiatives with youth, families, school districts, and colleges. Shelby holds a Ph.D. in Child Development from the University of Maryland.
