Sharon Cooper-Kerr, the Executive Director and Village Manager of Wilde Lake Community Association, has devoted her life to community service.
Cooper-Kerr, now a Howard County resident and prominent community member, was born in Cecil County, Maryland and moved to Hartford County as a teenager. Growing up she was surrounded by adults who taught her the importance of giving back.
Cooper-Kerr credits her parents, especially her dad and stepdad, for installing a giving spirit in her.
“My father was an auto mechanic and he loved helping people in the community. He taught my cousins how to work on cars. He was always fixing cars for free,” Cooper-Kerr said.
Cooper-Kerr also said that her stepfather was very involved in community service as well and would use their house as a welcoming center with free entertainment.
“My stepdad was a volunteer with the United Way of Central America. He loved reading and loved the library and always driving people to the library too. He would have a movie night at our house, and he would borrow a projector from the library to play a movie for all those he invited. Everyone really enjoyed that,” Cooper-Kerr said.
Cooper-Kerr’s mother also loved serving the community.
“My mom was always offering to cook for others, and making pies and cakes for different bake sales,” Cooper-Kerr said.
Seeing how much her parents loved helping others, Cooper-Kerr knew that she was bound to pursue a career in community service.
After high school she worked at JC Penny for some time, then an opportunity was presented to her that would start her career in community service and event planning.
“I started working for a company called Media Materials. It’s no longer around, but I learned a lot. I learned how to work a switchboard, learned how to work the phones. I was then offered a position with the Greater Baltimore Committee as an administrative assistant,” Cooper-Kerr said.
As an administrative assistant, Cooper-Kerr would handle numerous city planning tasks along with event planning.
Her organizational skills and attention to detail were noticed, leading to a job promotion to an “Events” position created specifically for her. In this role, she helped the organization with the entire planning and execution of events. She also worked full-time while pursuing her degree in Business Management at the University of Baltimore.
“Some of my favorite memories include putting on events with the Ravens and the Baltimore Orioles,” Cooper-Kerr said.
Continuing her love for event planning and philanthropy she then worked as a Senior Director of Operations for the National Foundation of Infectious Diseases.
After working for NFID she then worked as an Assistant Director for the United Way of Central, Maryland, the same organization her stepfather had supported. She worked for United Way during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I will never forget making masks for the essential workers. We made them for everyone that was putting their life at risk during this time, for nurses and people that were working in restaurants,” Cooper-Kerr said.
Finally in 2022, she joined the Wilde Lake Community Association as an Executive Director and Village Manager.
She describes the Wilde Lake Community Association as an organization that consistently looks out for the best interests of Howard County residents in all areas of their lives.
“We are there to simply serve the community,” Cooper-Kerr said.
She said that the organization helps residents with a variety of needs, from providing rental spaces at Slayton House to guiding homeowners on how to replace a roof.
Cooper-Kerr also enjoys the events the association does for their residents like, Breakfast with Santa.
“I love watching our residents come to our Breakfast with Santa every year. People have come up to me and said, “I remember when my mom used to bring me here as a child and now I get to bring my own kid,” Cooper-Kerr said.
She said that one of the biggest issues affecting the Howard County Community right now involves the youth residents and specifically their limited options for safe opportunities.
“I worry about our young people. That’s why I’m so happy that Club Wilde Lake was formed and we were able to give our youth a safe space, where they can learn a variety of skills and get to know themselves more and learn what they enjoy doing,” Cooper-Kerr said.
She also said that she values how much Club Wilde Lake prepares young people for the future by teaching them important subjects that they don’t learn in school like financial literacy.
“These young people are the future of Howard County and we must invest in them,” Cooper-Kerr said.
Cooper-Kerr has not only devoted her professional life to community service, she also spends a lot of her free time volunteering. She said an organization she has loved to work with is the Girl Scouts.
She started volunteering with the Girl Scouts at just 21 years old, and when her daughter became a scout she continued her work with them. She volunteered with the Girl Scouts for over 18 years.
Cooper-Kerr said her favorite memories with the Girl Scouts include taking the girls of incarcerated mothers to prison to visit them and spend time with them.
“When we visit the prison, we’re not thinking about what they did. They’re just mothers at that moment. The girls get to show off their badges and connect with them,” Cooper-Kerr said.
She also volunteers as a mentor for Ohana of Howard County, an organization that empowers students who face disadvantages.
Cooper-Kerr is a leader who is constantly thinking of others and works hard to do right by the Howard County Community.
This article was written by freelance reporter Michelle Calderon.
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