DaMareo Cooper is the Co-Executive Director at the Center for Popular Democracy. He is an Ohio-based grassroots organizer with deep roots in both racial justice and electoral campaigning at the local, state, and national levels. From housing to healthcare and criminal justice reform to economic opportunity access -- DeMareo has been on the
frontlines of many fights for justice for over 15 years. 

DaMareo was formerly the National Organizing Director of BlackPAC, a political action committee dedicated to engaging and mobilizing Black voters across the country, where he assisted in contacting over six million Black voters in the 2020 Presidential election and the Georgia Senate run-off election. Before that, he served as the Executive Director of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC) and Stand Up for Ohio, statewide organizations dedicated to improving everyday Ohioans’ lives through base-building, policy advocacy, and civic engagement (registering over half a million voters in the state). 

A deep passion for building power with people closest to the negative impacts of racist exploitative economic and criminal justice policies has guided his career, primarily in communities of color. He has focused his energy on creating effective campaigns that make structural changes at the intersection of race and economic inequity. DaMareo holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science from Kent State University, focusing on Pan-African Studies and Anthropology. He has been a professional organizer for over 15 years, primarily helping build power with the Ohio Organizing Collaborative. He’s run local and statewide organizing campaigns. Has been a canvasser, canvassing lead, organizer, lead organizer, organizing director (local and statewide), executive director, and national organizing director. DaMareo resides in Akron, Ohio.