Senator Cooney was adopted from an orphanage in Kolkata, India and raised by a single mother in the City of Rochester. He made history in 2020 as the first Asian American elected to state office from upstate New York, and the first state senator in decades to graduate from Rochester City School District (RCSD).

Senator Cooney serves as the Chair of the Committee on Procurement and Contracts and Chair of the Subcommittee on Cannabis.

In 2021, he was named co-chair of the Marijuana Task Force for the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus and he was instrumental in passing landmark legislation to legalize adult-use recreational marijuana. 

During his first year in office, Senator Cooney wrote over 50 legislative bills and passed legislation implementing the final phase of the Rochester School Modernization Project after years of delay in the legislature. The RSMP was one of the largest public works projects in Rochester’s history with nearly half a billion dollars going towards updating learning environments for RSCD students. 

In 2022, Senator Cooney passed the Green CHIPS Act, signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul. The Green CHIPS Act was instrumental in attracting new semiconductors businesses to New York State, such as Micron in Onondaga County and STAMP in Genesee County.

Senator Cooney began his career working on Capitol Hill for the late U.S. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter and later served as chief of staff for the City of Rochester. Prior to running for public office, Senator Cooney served as the senior director for community relations with Empire State Development (ESD). At ESD, he helped lead public affairs for large-scale economic development projects. 

Senator Cooney is active in Rochester and the Finger Lakes Region. He sits on the Board of Trustees for his alma mater, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, and is a member of the Vestry for Christ Church Rochester (Episcopal). He is a proud Eagle Scout and serves as a Vice Chair of the Executive Board for the Boy Scouts of America, Seneca Waterways Council.

Senator Cooney earned his B.A. with honors from Hobart College and his J.D. from Albany Law School. He resides in the City of Rochester and is married to Dr. Diane Lu, a urologic surgeon at the University of Rochester Medical Center.