Who I am and What you can Expect…
“…imaginative, talented and thoroughly professional.” ~David Toomey* (1)
So the simple truth is… I absolutely dislike writing/talking about myself, but I’ve learned that I need to let others know at least something about me so I’m learning. Here is what a few others have to say. See my LinkedIn page for full details. Thanks! 🙂
“a highly motivated, creative and community oriented individual who thrives on helping others.” ~Opal Adisa* (2)
“…in four words, they would be conscious, committed, creative and confident. In addition to her interpersonal and ICT skills, these are but some of the qualities that make DaraMonifah an asset to any organisation. Dara is an optimistic problem solver who has the ability to think outside the box.” ~Ijahnya Christian* (3)
“EXCEPTIONALLY creative, self-motivated, results orientated individual.”~ Iffat Walker (4)
“She quietly attains excellence with her positive ‘can do’ attitude and has clearly found a way to balance her many community activities with finding quality time for home and family life. Dara’s character is above repute…” ~Ijahnya Christian* (3)
Off the top of my head, my four words for myself are transparent, open, attentive and wide-eyed… (these change so I’ll add more later)
Born and raised on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, I grew up straddling the fence of living on campus at the University of the Virgin Islands and spending much time only yards away in the Michael J. Kirwan Terrace Housing community
“…whose cultural appetite is insatiable, is marked by every trait that characterizes a leader.” ~Leonardo Bardomero (5)
I write about all of my moving experiences in the Virgin Islands especially those gained while educating and influencing youth as well as the various cultural activities I either assist with producing or attend. I also will occasionally share insightful moments shared with random people while traveling that have interestingly helped me to understand myself and my purpose even deeper. Even more randomly, I may share things about health related subjects. I firmly believe in the importance of documenting experiences for the purposes of cultural preservation along with organizational, historical and personal importance. Thus, I encourage everyone to save and share memories of their experiences through the use of photojournalism, presentations, collages, scrap-booking, social media etc.
“a highly experienced community organizer and activist. Her work with young people is invaluable to the community. I also highly recommend her as a graphic designer and social media expert.” ~ Tricia Homer (6)
I’ve learned so much from the various people I meet and interact with throughout the Virgin Islands and internationally. Because of recognizing the worth in all this; I too have a story to tell about my own life lessons that have helped others and may help even more if/when I share. This website is one place I’ll use to share my story with the world.
You can read an extended version of this by clicking on my bio.
Direct partial quotes about DaraMonifah Cooper were from the following professors, colleagues, and/or people whom I’ve previously worked for/with:
(1) David Toomey Director, Program for Professional Writing and Technical Communication at University of Massachusetts Amherst
(2) Opal Adisa* President & Independent Consultant, Writing Coach of OPALWRITES CONSULTANCY
(3) Ijahnya Christian Principal Consultant at Regency Consulting Services
(4) Iffat Walker Managing Partner & Senior Consultant Walker & Associates Consulting Accounting & Tax Professionals at Walker & Associates Consulting, LLC
(5) Leonardo Bardomero Graduate Student/(CM)^2 Fellow at San Francisco State University — Mathematics
(6) Tricia Homer Marketing Coordinator at Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at University of Maryland
