Debert Cook was born in
the small southern town of Montgomery, West Virginia
into a family of coal miners, ministers and entrepreneurs. She demonstrated her
creativity early, at age 8, by producing and performing with her first musical variety
group in the
local talent show. In 1977
her graduating class at South High School
in Youngstown, Ohio, voted her
'most talented' among their peers and she went on
to perform as an alto saxophonist and trumpet
player with area R&B bands and
has auditioned at the world-famous Motown Studios in Detroit,
Michigan.
While a college student, Cook completed an
internship with TV-Channel 33
(NBC-TV Affiliate) in Youngstown, Ohio and has held positions as a morning news
anchor, audio
broadcast technician and disc jockey for local stations in the Ohio
and Pennsylvania Allegheny
valley prior to launching
her company,
Cook Marketing Corp. in 1987, specializing in minority
business building initiatives.
She holds an Associate degree in Music
Business from Georgia State University
in Atlanta (1981), a certificate in Radio and Television Broadcast Production from
the Specs
Howard School of Broadcast Arts (1983) in Detroit, Michigan, a Bachelor
of Arts in
Communications from Youngstown State University (1988) in Ohio, and a
Master of Arts degree in
Liberal Studies/History
from the City University of New York
(1994). She also serves as an
adjunct professor in art history
at the South Bronx
campus of The College of New Rochelle, NY.
She obtained her CMP Certification in
meeting planning from the Convention
Industry Council in August 2000 and has been featured in the planner profile section
of Black
Meetings & Tourism magazine (2001). She was nominated by Meetings
South magazine for the
"Rising Star" award (2000) and cited by Hon. Howard
Golden, President of the Borough of
Brooklyn, NY (1999) who recognized the firm
for top performance and new business achievement and
is a member of the
NYC & Company Meeting and Event Coalition Committee.
Cook relocated to New York in 1989 and has
worked for several fortune 500
companies including, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Avon Products, Philip Morris USA,
Chase Manhattan
Bank and Business Week, prior to establishing her own firm,
Event Planners Plus! Inc., in
January 1999. The company is located in the financial
district of lower Manhattan where she now
works with many of her former employers
in client-based relationships.
Cook is a tenacious, "Type-A"
personality with strong attention to detail and shares
her knowledge in the meeting and tourism industry by contributing travel-related
focus
articles to business publications. Her firm provides on-the-job experience to
'up-and-coming'
planners through year-round project internships and mentoring
opportunities.
The company's client list includes The
Caribbean-American Chamber of Commerce
& Industry,
The Power Business Breakfast Series with The Network Journal, WBLS
Radio
and Black Enterprise,
Black Expo New York and the office of the New York
State Comptroller, H.
Carl McCall.
Cook is frequently sought after for
speaking engagements and is a member of the
Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce & Industry Inc., NYC &
Company - the
NY
Convention Bureau, NY/NJ Minority Purchasing Council, National Coalition of
Black Meeting Planners, and
numerous other women and professional organizations.
She is a 13-year resident of Staten Island, NY
and in her leisure time enjoys adventure,
travel, tennis and comedy clubs.
Debert relocated in New York in 1989
and returned to college to
earn her
master's degree in Liberal Studies from
the
City University of
New York (1994).
Dr. Leonard Jeffries, Prof. Black Studies at CUNY,
enjoy activities at the 1999 Kente Cloth Festival in Bronx,
NY.
She
established the event marketing division of her firm, Event Planners
Plus! Inc.
In January
1999, in the financial district of Manhattan after working for a host of
fortune
500 companies including, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Avon products,
Philip Morris, Chase
Manhattan Bank and Business Week.
In August of
the same year, she opened the doors to her Midwest office inside the
historic Book Tower on Washington Boulevard in downtown Detroit,
Michigan.
A tenacious
detailed-oriented planner, her company awarded management of several
business programs and events with clients including the Network
Journal, African
American Women on Tour, Professional Women
of Color, Stone By Stone and
the annual financial conference of
the New York state Comptroller, H. Carl McCall.
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