As a plethora of New York legislators and different dignitaries assembled on Labor Day Monday beneath an enormous tent on the Lincoln Terrace Courtroom in Crown Heights for the Pre-Caribbean Carnival Parade Breakfast of the 58th Annual West Indian American Day Carnival Parade, the organizing group, the Brooklyn-based West Indian American Day Carnival Affiliation (WIADCA), bestowed particular honor on Angela Cooper.
Cooper, a Tobago-born retired director of communications and public affairs and director of volunteer companies at NYC Well being + Hospitals/McKinney in Brooklyn, was introduced with the award by Dr. Ionie Pierce, WIADCA’s Jamaican-born treasurer and former chairperson.
“Angela Cooper is a philanthropist and lively member of a number of community-based organizations, together with WIADCA, the place she has volunteered for practically 10 years,” Dr. Pierce stated. “Serving as an advisor, she additionally shares her skills in singing and adorning, together with her melodious voice singing the nationwide anthem and fantastically crafted centerpieces, that are admired yr after yr at breakfast.
“Past WIADCA, Angela extends her generosity to organizations and people each in the USA and her homeland of Tobago,” she added. “Her unwavering dedication to service has earned her quite a few honors, together with the US Presidential Volunteer Service Award, introduced by President Joe Biden. She has additionally been acknowledged a number of occasions by Schneps Media, together with being named a Energy Lady.
“Professionally, Angela devoted 27 years to NYC Well being + Hospitals, and she or he at present serves as president of the Trinbago Progressive Affiliation of the USA,” Dr. Pierce continued. “She is deeply admired for her ardour, dedication, and repair to the neighborhood.”
Cooper, who can also be founder and CEO of the Coral Reef Expertise and public relations officer of the Tobago Empowerment & Alliance Mission, Inc. (T.E.A.M.), informed Caribbean Life afterwards that she was “deeply honored and humbled to obtain this recognition from the West Indian American Day Carnival Affiliation.
“To be acknowledged for my years of service and dedication to an establishment that embodies our individuals’s spirit, tradition, and creativity is really heartwarming,” she stated.
“Carnival is greater than a celebration—it’s heritage, expression, and neighborhood,” Cooper added. “To play even a small position in supporting its progress and guaranteeing its traditions reside on has been one of many biggest privileges of my life.
“My journey with the affiliation has allowed me not solely to serve, however to study, to attach, and to witness the unimaginable energy of tradition to unite individuals,” Cooper continued. “I lengthen my heartfelt due to the WIADCA for this honor. I settle for it on behalf of all who proceed to work tirelessly behind the scenes to maintain our traditions alive.
“This recognition strengthens my resolve to maintain serving with ardour, dedication, and love for my neighborhood,” she stated.
Cooper — affectionately generally known as Woman Cooper — is a dynamic drive whose affect spans healthcare, neighborhood improvement, cultural ambassadorship, and the humanities.
A humanitarian, youth mentor, cultural influencer, gospel artiste, author, motivational speaker, and occasions administrator, Cooper embodies a life devoted to service, empowerment, and excellence.
Decided to be a changemaker in eldercare and her neighborhood, Cooper stated she selected to serve inside some of the impactful healthcare techniques within the nation—NYC Well being + Hospitals/McKinney.
She stated she started humbly as a service aide within the Meals Providers Division, later changing into the primary worker on the facility to be promoted to coordinating supervisor. She in the end rose to director of public affairs and communications and director of volunteer companies whereas additionally serving as liaison to the Group Advisory and Auxiliary Board.
Cooper stated her portfolio was huge, together with overseeing customer support, the mail room, the wonder parlor, and all in-house and community-oriented occasions.
For greater than 15 years, she stated she guided and mentored over 800 younger adults within the DYCD Summer time Program, instilling values of self-discipline, respect, and repair.
Cooper stated her management formed applications and occasions that holistically enhanced residents’ lives, guaranteeing they “lived their finest lives.”
In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, regardless of her personal underlying situations, Cooper stated she by no means missed a day of labor, guaranteeing that McKinney’s residents and over 450 workers remained “secure, nourished, and cared for.”
Past her distinguished profession, Cooper has change into a cornerstone of Brooklyn’s neighborhood life.
Tirelessly extending herself to community-based organizations—all professional bono—she has spearheaded landmark initiatives, together with: Introducing a Caribbean-styled Christmas present at New York Metropolis Corridor; implementing the Annual Trinidad & Tobago Independence Awards Occasion; main Brooklyn’s first official inauguration ceremony for U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the ninth Congressional District in Brooklyn; spearheading the Caribbean Diabetes Initiative in Tobago, the place over 1,000 people acquired screenings, care, and important medicine; and internet hosting and lending her experience to quite a few occasions throughout Brooklyn, together with the Schneps Media community.
A gifted performer within the gospel music style, Cooper just lately made historical past as the primary Tobagonian to sing the Nationwide Anthem at a gap sport at Maimonides Park, house of the Brooklyn Cyclones—one other proud milestone for her island.
Her management continues by way of neighborhood organizations.
As president of the Trinbago Progressive Affiliation of the USA (TPAUSA), Cooper stated she helps disseminate important well being sources to marginalized communities within the US and Tobago.
As T.E.A.M.’s public relations officer, she chairs the annual Tobago Day occasion, which just lately celebrated its tenth anniversary.
Cooper stated her humanitarian attain extends again to her homeland, the place she distributes care packages to nursing properties, supplies faculty provides to youngsters, and hosts seasonal occasions for underserved households.
Her generosity, expertise, and management have earned her admiration from residents, colleagues, and leaders.
She has been honored by neighborhood organizations, the New York Metropolis Council, State senators, the Brooklyn Borough presidents, the Mayor of NYC, and U.S. Rep. Clarke.
Amongst her most notable honors are: U.S. Presidential Lifetime Management Award (first Tobagonian recipient); Tobago Diaspora Award (first Tobagonian recipient); NYC Well being + Hospitals/McKinney’s first and solely Distinguished Award; Schneps Media Healthcare Heroes Award; Schneps Media Caribbean Heritage Award; Schneps Media Caribbean Influence Award; Schneps Media Brooklyn Energy Lady Award; and on Monday, Labor Day, Recognition Award from WIADCA for years of cultural service and dedication.
Cooper’s effervescent persona — usually described as “magnetic, outspoken, daring, and compassionate” — continues to encourage, particularly the youth she mentors.
She stated she takes no credit score for her achievements, giving all glory to her Greater Being, her Creator, her God.
Cooper stated her story is “a real reflection of the immigrant journey.”
Arriving in New York in 1987 in search of progress and alternative, she stated she first labored as a housekeeper and nanny earlier than securing her authorized standing.
A university graduate from humble beginnings, Cooper stated her dedication has at all times been to make herself, her household, and her island, the sister isle of the bigger Trinidad, proud.
Cooper stated her final aspiration is easy but profound: “To depart a legacy of service, love, and information,” in order that those that enter her house will probably be higher off having encountered her.
Her tenet stays: “No matter you study, you educate.”
