“HEALED PEOPLE HEAL PEOPLE” - PHILIP COOPER

Reverend Philip Cooper, a Western North Carolina (WNC) native, is an accomplished reentry expert and criminal justice reform advocate. He is the Founder and Chief Change Agent of Operation Gateway Inc., dedicated to leveraging lived experience to transform lives and reduce the stigma on recovery and reentry. He also founded Voices of Affrilachia, a state-funded initiative tackling behavioral health stigma in marginalized communities.

Reverend Cooper has been recognized with numerous honors, including the MLK Service Award, the Attorney General’s Dogwood Award, the 2024 Recovery Role Model Award, SAMHSA’s 2024 Innovator of the Year, Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builder Award, and TIME Magazine’s 2025 CLOSER Honoree. He is an Appalachian Leadership Institute Fellow, a Leading with Conviction Fellow with JustLeadershipUSA, and an ambassador for Just Economics of WNC. As Pastor of Friends of John Recovery Ministry, Philip champions the belief that those closest to the problem are closest to the solution.