Valerie A. Cooper

Art consultant Valerie A. Cooper was born on October 18, 1961, in Stamford, Connecticut, to Harley and Mary Cooper. She graduated from Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, with her B.S. degree in mental health and computer science in 1983 and earned her M.B.A. degree in corporate relations and finance from Columbia University Business School in New York City in 1987.

Cooper began her career at Travelers Insurance Company in Hartford, Connecticut, where she worked as a computer programmer from 1983 to 1985. After completing her M.B.A., she joined Goldman Sachs in 1987 as vice president of risk technology, later serving as corporate curator for the Americas, Europe, and Asia. During her fifteen-year tenure, she developed and managed Goldman Sachs’ corporate art collection, overseeing acquisitions and exhibitions that emphasized cultural representation and global engagement.

In 2002, Cooper founded Picture That, LLC, an art consulting and curatorial services firm specializing in corporate art acquisition, art-based branding, and workplace design. Through Picture That, she has advised corporations, healthcare systems, and educational institutions nationwide. Her firm has received multiple honors, including the WorkPlace Company Partner of the Year Award (2017) and the Arts & Culture Empowerment Corporate Award (2018).

Beyond her entrepreneurial work, Cooper has served as an adjunct professor of business at Norwalk Community College from 2016 to 2023, and in 2020, she became national director of the HBCU Digital Art Project (H-DAP), advancing digital access and representation of African American artists. In 2023, she joined the Smithsonian American Art Museum as a community outreach consultant.

Cooper has received numerous awards and honors, including the Leadership Award from Congressman Jim Himes in 2010, the Women Making an Impact Award from the Fairfield County Business Journal in 2014, the MGM Resorts Women’s History Month Award in 2018, the Powerful Woman Leaders Award from the Westchester County Business Journal in 2019, and the Exemplary Service Award from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Atlantic Region Chapter in 2021. Cooper received numerous Supplier of the Year awards including the Connecticut Supplier of the Year Award from the State of Connecticut Office of the Treasurer in 2006, the National Supplier of the Year Award from the Minority Supplier Development Council in 2008, the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council’s Supplier of the Year Award in 2014, and the National Minority Supplier Development Council’s Regional Supplier of the Year Award in 2015. Cooper was included on The Network Journal’s “25 Most Influential Black Women in Business” list in 1999. Picture That, LLC has received numerous awards including the WorkPlace Company Partner of the Year Award in 2017 and the Arts & Culture Empowerment Corporate Award in 2018.

Cooper resides in Stamford, Connecticut.

Valerie A. Cooper was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on August 7, 2024.