Founder and Executive director Barry Cooper
Barry Cooper (known to many as Coach Coop) is an educator with more than a decade supporting young men of color. Barry founded The B.R.O. Experience Foundation in 2020 to expand his work in closing the Black male mental health gap.
In a career dedicated to youth development, Barry has served as Dean and Director of Culture at Eagle Academy for Young Men, taught at CUNY Fatherhood Academy as an adjunct Life and Wellness Educator, and has mentored formerly incarcerated youth through the New York Department of Probation. He has been Vice-Chair of the Brooklyn NAACP Educational Committee and has run for local office. His books include “The Provider: a Guide for Co-Parenting Dads” and a forthcoming children’s book.
The B.R.O. Experience stands for Brothers Redefining Opportunity, and with his team, Barry is constantly discovering new ways to engage and develop young men of color to build strong leaders of tomorrow.
Meet the Team
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Barry Cooper
Founder & Executive Director
Teacher, author, organizer, and public speaker with over a decade in youth and fatherhood education.
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Wilona Chambers
Board Chair
VP Market Manager at Valley Bank
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Jason Starr
Board Member
Inaugural Director of Litigation at the Human Rights Campaign
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Cabrie Kearns
Board Member
Chief of Staff, Harold Grinspoon Foundation
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Joanna Clinton
Board Treasurer
Director, NYC Department of Youth and Community Development
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Meka Nurse
Board Secretary
Senior Director, Aging Connect at NYC Department for the Aging
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Jacob Gordon
Grants and Communications Officer
Tech founder and CMO, former journalist
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Vanessa Clarke (LMSW)
Social Work Innovation Officer
Adjunct Lecturer at CUNY Medgar Evers College, Therapist at The Jewish Board
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Trent Orange
Lead BRO X facilitator & Director of Little BRO Summer Camp programming
Graduate of The B.R.O. Experience
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Anecia Henry
Program Coordinator – The BRO Space, The BRO Project
MSW Candidate, Fordham Graduate School of Social Services
Meet our Supporters
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The Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabalization Fund (NY City Council & NY Urban League)
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The Pinkerton Foundation
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Capital One Bank
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Office of State Assembly-member Stefani Zinerman
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Office of City Council-member Chi Ossé
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NEW YORK STATE SENATOR Jabari Brisport 25TH SENATE DISTRICT
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Office of BK Borough President Antonio Reynoso
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The Cowles Charitable Trust
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Hinter College – Silberman School of Social Work
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Fordham University School of Social Service
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Community Donors Like You!
What is transformational education?
