A 28-year member Los Angeles City Fire Department, Kwame Cooper became a Battalion Chief in 2004. Rooted in a lifelong philosophy that all people deserve access to better and safer lives, Chief Cooper has been a tireless advocate for fire safety and healthy relationships between all sectors of society, having received countless awards for his work in designing fire safety curriculum and instructing firefighters in all areas of leadership. Over his career, Chief Cooper: Designed the LAFD School Outreach Program that became the basis for the NFPA "Safe Cities" and "Champion" programs operating nation-wide; served as Fire Safety Education Director for the International Assn of Black Professional Firefighters; been instrumental in helping the LAFD hire firefighters from diverse communities; coordinated the "Days of Dialogue" program to foster communications and collaboration between racial and ethnic groups; consulted with the NFPA Center for High Risk Outreach; worked as an instructor at the National Fire Academy and the Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute at Clark Atlanta University, where he teaches leadership, effective management and community-based fire stations to future Fire Captains and Chief Officers from around the country. Chief Cooper is a certified facilitator for the LA Attorney's Office, and has promoted racial dialogue for the National Conference of Community and Justice (formerly the National Conference of Christians and Jews). In addition to volunteering thousands of hours to community-based organizations, he is continuously sharpening his skills and knowledge in human relations and diversity issues. He is a graduate of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund's Community-Based Leadership Program, Leadership Development in Inter-Ethnic Relations, Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute, New Ventures School of Executive Coaching, Loyola Marymount Martin Gang Institute of Intergroup Relations, Global Leadership Facilitator Training Institute, Imagine 21 Leadership Program, and L-380 Incident Command and Leadership Development Program. He is also pursuing a degree in Fire Emergency Management at California State Long Beach. Guiding the implementation of community-based fire protection programs that became the "Dreams on Fire" documentary on KCET, the program received Golden Mike and Emmy awards as best documentary on social issues in Southern California. Earning national acclaim for his efforts in developing one of 11 "Promising Practices" by President Clinton's Race Initiative, he was invited to attend the President's town hall meeting on race relations and subsequently hosted visiting members of Clinton's advisory panel on race relations. In 1999 he was named Firefighter of the Year by the Knights of Columbus. His work has taken him into diverse communities from Watts to the Caribbean, Central America, Carcavelos, Portugal, South Africa, Ethiopia and Argentina, and Chief Cooper brings a wealth of unique urban, national and international experience to the 911 FUND.
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