🌟 Member Spotlight: Rachel Cooper 🌟

Rachel Cooper, MSW

This month, we’re celebrating Rachel Cooper. She is a proud Army Veteran and clinical social worker who stays committed to our mission, no matter where she is. Rachel served a year-long deployment in Afghanistan, and that same spirit of discipline, service, and care still shows up in everything she does. Since graduating from the Boston College School of Social Work in 2018, she’s done the work ,and then some. From supporting veterans at VA hospitals across Boston, New Hampshire, and Vermont, to advocating for students through the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, Rachel has always found a way to blend purpose with impact. She recently completed a fellowship in C-DBT at the University of Chicago and now serves as a Postpartum Social Worker at Ascension in Chicago, supporting new mothers and birthing folks through one of life’s most sacred transitions.

Rachel has been a proud member of the Greater Boston Association of Black Social Workers since 2023. She joined with intention , looking to connect with other Black social workers, stand firm in the fight for social justice, and live by the NABSW Code of Ethics. From the moment she came in, she’s been all in.

She represents the diversity and brilliance of Black social work. She’s an emerging professional who is constantly growing, showing us all that clinical excellence, community love, and cultural pride can and should  coexist.

She fully embodies Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility). Though she relocated to Chicago at the end of 2024, she never stopped repping for our chapter and remains very active. As our Chair of Community Affairs, she’s helped lead Juneteenth planning, promote voter registration, manage our LinkedIn page, and keep our community connected. She’s making sure our work is seen, respected, and uplifted in public and behind the scenes.

Rachel has that grounded, straight-up energy we all appreciate. Always positive, always real, and always ready to capture the best  photo (because yes, she knows everyone’s angle). She joined many of us at the 2025 NABSW National Conference, and even though she’s physically in a different city, she’s still deeply woven into our chapter’s heart.

As Black social workers, it’s vital that we travel, share, and expand our exposure. Rachel reminds us that we don’t grow by staying still. Our communities need representation, real help and real solutions which sometimes means stepping outside your zip code, gaining experience, and bringing that wisdom right back home. That’s exactly what she’s doing.

As James Baldwin said, “The place in which I’ll fit will not exist until I make it.” Rachel continues to make space , for herself, for the people, and for the future of Black social work.

We see you, sis. We appreciate you. Thank you for always lifting us up with love, purpose, and style.

Asé.