Jameca Woody Cooper

Dr. Jameca Woody Cooper serves as Adjunct Faculty and Program Director for Applied Educational Psychology and School Psychology at Webster University's School of Education in St. Louis, Missouri. A Counseling psychologist, educator, entrepreneur, and civic leader, she holds a Ph.D. in Educational and Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri Columbia and operates Emergence Psychological Services, serving the Saint Louis community for sixteen years.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Educational and Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri Columbia

Her research centers on dismantling mental health stigma in communities of color through multicultural counseling, racial identity frameworks, and urban community interventions. She specializes in mental health of older adults and social determinants of health, leveraging a unique perspective on race to improve healthcare access for African American populations, as evidenced by her 100+ conference presentations and national media features.

Scientific Awards:

• Fulbright Award/Fellowship in Global Health
• Salute to Excellence in Health Care award by the St. Louis American newspaper (2014)
• Phenomenal Woman award from First Bank and 95.5 The Lou (2018)

Dr. Cooper actively shapes mental health discourse through organizational leadership as president-elect of the Missouri Psychological Association, board member of the American Psychological Association's national committee, past president of the Association of Black Psychologists (St. Louis Chapter), and president of the Tougaloo College Alumni Association. Her civic engagement includes reinvigorating outreach at the Hearing and Speech Center and CareSTL Advisory Board, directly addressing social determinants of health that earned her a 2023 RISE Health Care Hero Award nomination.