Fatu Jalloh Cooper
General Manager, Liberia Woodwork Construction & Trading Corp. Monrovia, Liberia. Age: 39
Born in Monrovia, Liberia, Fatu Jalloh Cooper has faced her share of challenges as civil wars ravished her home and businesses. Time after time, however, the general manager and part owner of Liberia Woodwork Construction & Trading Corp. proved that success is always possible. “I am proud of being able to consistently run and develop the family business through the years, despite having to operate in a post-war environment and having to start from scratch each time,” she says.
While running the family business, Cooper also became owner and part owner, respectively, of Rainbow Gift House and Pret A Porter Boutique in Monrovia. Before that, she was a management and finance consul-tant in Sierra Leone, a project coordinator for the German nonprofit GTZ’s Repatriation and Logistics Program in Rwanda and a management trainee at GTZ’s Office of the Africa Department in Ethiopia. She was once appointed to the Board of Civil Aviation in Liberia. Today, she uses Liberia Woodwork to fulfill her passion for educating young people, offering training in carpentry and aluminum each year. She also counsels young women and is a patron of the Christian Mission Academy, a community school for which she helps to raise funds.
“I am passionate about being a productive Black African woman and at the same time show the younger generation that they can be productive too — and must!” says Cooper. Quoting Pablo Picasso, she adds, “Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.” She also enjoys writing and has penned several short stories, several of which are online. She notes, “I find that I express myself better on paper. It gives me a sense of liberation.”
Cooper studied in Switzerland at College Alpin Beau Soleil and Franklin College and at Schiller University in France. She holds an advanced diploma from London City College in England, where she studied international business.
Fun Facts
Favorite food: Grilled fish with rice and plantain
What actor should play you in a movie: Halle Berry
Favorite sports team: The Lone Star
Last movie: Salt
What artist/group would you go on tour with: Andrea Bocelli or P-Square
Movie theater or home theater: Movie theater
List the languages you speak: English and French
