In The Spotlight
Dr. Sharon Cooper
African American women prove time and time again they are one of many essential threads that keep our culture thriving and moving forward. Beginning with the our origin in the Motherlands of Africa, our female ancestors helped the males maintain the family by rearing the children and creating a comfortable home ambiance as the men provided for the family.
As a sect of our African ancestors were moved to the Americas, these women's roles were transformed into an earlier form of what is typically seen today. Women of today, not only help nurture the home and help bring in the "bacon", but they also make indispensable contributions to our society. A resident of Fayetteville, NC, Dr. Sharon Cooper is the prime example of a woman who makes extraordinary contributions to the field of forensic pediatrics on local, national, and international levels. Forensic pediatrics focuses on the evaluation, treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect. National statistics reveal that an estimated three million reports of suspected child maltreatment are made to child welfare agencies annually, and nearly one million of these children are found to be victims of at least one form of maltreatment. The US Department of Health and Human Services reports the rate of child victimization was 12.4 victims per 1,000 children in 2003. Neglect accounted for 60.9% of these cases, physical abuse 18.9%, sexual abuse 9.9 %, psychological abuse 4.9%, and medical neglect 2.3 %.' A child may suffer from more than one form of child maltreatment.
Dr. Cooper combats these statistics through her affiliations as a forensic Pediatrician at the Southern Regional Area Health Education Center, an adjunct professor of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Medicine; the executive director of Developmental Forensic Pediatrics, P. A. and a registered physician within the Child Medical Evaluation Program under the auspices of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dr. Cooper retired as a Colonel in the U.S. Army, having served 21 years of active duty at several installations in the United States and overseas. She oversees developmental and forensic patients on base at the Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, which is the largest Army military installation in the world.
Just as many great legends of our culture, Dr. Cooper is a Christian and her local assembly is the Lewis Chapel Baptist Church. She serves her church by using her talents as a pianist and organist. She also teaches the Pre-teen Sunday School Class and has been teaching for over 20 years. LCBC Online Ministries Shines the spot light on Dr. Sharon Cooper for her commitment to keeping our youth safe and bringing justice to those that have been wronged.