Get to know Isaac Cooper.
Born in Florida to Jamaican immigrant parents, Cooper, 32, grew up in Fort Walton Beach with three older brothers and a younger sister. A gifted athlete, he participated in soccer, baseball, basketball, and track and field, and was a competitive weightlifter.
Cooper’s older brother, Ashley, was an All-American defensive back at Mississippi State. Though Ashley’s career in the National Football League was cut short by injury, Cooper saw the opportunities football created and came to view that sport as the gateway to the life he wanted.
After a standout career as a high school defensive back, Cooper considered scholarship offers from multiple Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) colleges before settling on Samford University. The deciding factor, he said, was Samford’s coach at the time, Pat Sullivan, the 1971 Heisman Trophy winner at Auburn.
Like his brother before him, Cooper saw his dreams of an NFL career derailed by injuries. That reality set in after the final game of his senior year and placed him at “a critical moment” as he prepared to graduate in the spring of 2012.
Characteristically, Cooper worked – and thought – his way to a solution. His finance degree got him a job in Birmingham with a Fortune 100 company. But finding himself the only Black person in many meetings got him thinking about both the racial inequities in the financial industry and the lack of substantive education about finances available to many people of all colors.
To meet that objective, Cooper started his own firm in 2016. With offices in historic downtown Ensley, IMC Financial Consulting is what he calls “the first vertically integrated financial services company in the country,” working with clients representing a full range of economic means and circumstances.
“Our model is not led by income, but by intention,” Cooper said. “We work with empathy for people who don’t have assets, while also helping those who do. We’re still a boutique firm, but we’re growing, and our clients are growing with us.”
Most visibly, since October 2019, Cooper has been chairman of the board of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. At the time, the institute was in a time of transition, short on staff and experiencing financial difficulties that soon were compounded by the onset of the pandemic. Under Cooper’s leadership, the board was revitalized, and the institute recommitted to its founding vision. Today, the focus is firmly on establishing an endowment to sustain the institute for the long term, part of an energetic push toward renewed relevance and vitality in the post-COVID world.
For Cooper, that future is built around his wife, Deesha, and their children – Irie, 3, Isla, 2, and a new arrival due in June. He’s committed to raising his young family in a community that is the best it can be, and to doing everything he can to contribute to that.
Topic :
Wealth Creation Moves for Kids & Youth
https://www.instagram.com/planning__22
Cooper’s older brother, Ashley, was an All-American defensive back at Mississippi State. Though Ashley’s career in the National Football League was cut short by injury, Cooper saw the opportunities football created and came to view that sport as the gateway to the life he wanted.
After a standout career as a high school defensive back, Cooper considered scholarship offers from multiple Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) colleges before settling on Samford University. The deciding factor, he said, was Samford’s coach at the time, Pat Sullivan, the 1971 Heisman Trophy winner at Auburn.
Like his brother before him, Cooper saw his dreams of an NFL career derailed by injuries. That reality set in after the final game of his senior year and placed him at “a critical moment” as he prepared to graduate in the spring of 2012.
Characteristically, Cooper worked – and thought – his way to a solution. His finance degree got him a job in Birmingham with a Fortune 100 company. But finding himself the only Black person in many meetings got him thinking about both the racial inequities in the financial industry and the lack of substantive education about finances available to many people of all colors.
To meet that objective, Cooper started his own firm in 2016. With offices in historic downtown Ensley, IMC Financial Consulting is what he calls “the first vertically integrated financial services company in the country,” working with clients representing a full range of economic means and circumstances.
“Our model is not led by income, but by intention,” Cooper said. “We work with empathy for people who don’t have assets, while also helping those who do. We’re still a boutique firm, but we’re growing, and our clients are growing with us.”
Most visibly, since October 2019, Cooper has been chairman of the board of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. At the time, the institute was in a time of transition, short on staff and experiencing financial difficulties that soon were compounded by the onset of the pandemic. Under Cooper’s leadership, the board was revitalized, and the institute recommitted to its founding vision. Today, the focus is firmly on establishing an endowment to sustain the institute for the long term, part of an energetic push toward renewed relevance and vitality in the post-COVID world.
For Cooper, that future is built around his wife, Deesha, and their children – Irie, 3, Isla, 2, and a new arrival due in June. He’s committed to raising his young family in a community that is the best it can be, and to doing everything he can to contribute to that.
Topic :
Wealth Creation Moves for Kids & Youth
https://www.instagram.com/planning__22