Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 06/03/2024.
As White House correspondent for the New York Times, Helene Cooper takes us beyond the headlines and into the real substance of what’s behind them. A veteran reporter who also served as diplomatic correspondent for the New York Times and as a reporter and foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, she understands how the news in Washington affects the rest of the world and how international issues affect Washington.
Journalist Helene Cooper is "Congo," a descendant of two Liberian dynasties -• traced back to the first ship of freemen that set sail from New York in 1820 to found Monrovia. Helene grew up at Sugar Beach, a twenty-two room mansion by the sea in a childhood filled with servants, flashy cars, a villa in Spain, and a country estate. When Helene was eight, the Coopers took in a foster child, a Bassa girl named Eunice. For years the Cooper daughters -• Helene, her sister Marlene, and Eunice -• blissfully enjoyed the trappings of wealth and advantage.
But on April 12, 1980 a group of soldiers staged a coup d'etat, assassinating Liberian President William Tolbert and executing his cabinet. The Coopers and the entire Congo class were now the hunted, being imprisoned, shot, tortured, and raped. Helene, Marlene, and their mother fled Sugar Beach for America. They left Eunice behind.
A world away, Helene tried to assimilate as an American and discovered her passion for journalism, eventually becoming a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and White House correspondent for the New York Times. She reported from every part of the globe -• except Africa -• as Liberia descended into war-torn, third-world hell. In 2003, a near-death experience in Iraq convinced Helene that Liberia -• and Eunice -• could wait no longer. It’s not only a deeply personal story, but one of a violent and stratified country to which her own family is inextricably linked.
Helene Cooper is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as The Latest From Washington and The House at Sugar Beach: A Personal Journey. The estimated speaking fee range to book Helene Cooper for your event is available upon request. Helene Cooper generally travels from Washington, DC, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Laura Ling, Morgan Jerkins, Yangsze Choo, Terry McMillan and Anthea Butler. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Helene Cooper for an upcoming live or virtual event.
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