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Sports, Community, and a Little Rhode Island Pride: the Elements That Shaped Brooke Cooper's Career

March 29, 2023 - International League (IL)
Worcester Red Sox News Release


Brooke Cooper, the Worcester Red Sox' Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager, is not one to shy away from opportunity.

Eight years ago, Cooper started her career in baseball as the sole intern for the Pawtucket Red Sox' merchandise department. From there, the Woonsocket, RI native became department manager and later Director of Marketing and Merchandise before being promoted in 2019 to WooSox Vice President of Marketing. She credits her current success to her love for sports, community, and saying "yes" to most of the opportunities that have come her way.

"I would say my love for community is what's kept me here at the WooSox, because we have such an opportunity here and such a platform to make a difference," Cooper said. "There are so many organizations and so many families that might be going through a tough time, and they get to come out for a night of baseball and have this amazing experience, and it might be the highlight of their entire year. That's just something you don't get everywhere. The beauty of that has really made me want to have a career in baseball."

Growing up the youngest of five athletic and competitive siblings, Cooper was often challenged in baseball, soccer, football, volleyball or even 1v1 basketball to 100 points. At Woonsocket High School, she won the state championship in both her junior and senior years and was recruited to play Division II basketball at Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire, just two hours from home.

When it came to deciding what to study, Cooper said the sports industry was not her first choice.

"At first I thought I wanted to be an educator, because I come from a family of educators-I think they're the greatest people in the world, but I realized that wasn't for me," Cooper said. "Then I thought I wanted to go into journalism. I enjoyed pieces of it. At one point I remember thinking that maybe I should be a math major. I have no idea what I was thinking. I try to remember what my end goal was there. All very quickly, [I] went through all those phases, and then Franklin Pierce had a good sport and rec management program, and I though, 'Well, sports have given me so much, why not have a career in something that I love?'"

Always maintaining her love for her hometown, Cooper said after graduating she wanted to open a community center in Woonsocket but did not think she "had the business acumen yet to pursue that." To achieve her goal, Cooper started to pursue her master's degree at Providence College in business administration. Because of the program's internship credit requirement, she found herself back in Rhode Island, this time in Pawtucket, where her family used to attend PawSox games together and she and her brothers would frequently play catch on the Berm.

While working at the PawSox, Cooper met Dan Rea, current WooSox General Manager and Executive President of Business and Real Estate. Rea said that he and others within the organization were impressed "pretty much right off the bat" at how seasoned and poised Cooper seemed.

"Brooke commanded and still commands respect of her colleagues," Rea said. "She's really a go-to person and someone who you can go to with a problem and she'll find a way to figure it out. I consider her to be a glue person in the organization, and I think we saw early on that she had those leadership capabilities."

While in her various roles in Pawtucket, Cooper said she learned how to "dabble in different areas," which helped her grow as a business professional and transition with the team when it moved to Worcester.

"I was responsible for the business side of [the team] in managing the budget, working with finance and accounting, the gameday operation, and customer service," Cooper said. "All of those things that are really important on the front lines, I learned in my very first role here with the team, and then you learn more about the marketing, which really expands your view of the whole organization, working with every other department on things."

Having started as an intern, Cooper worked her way up the ranks to her current role with the WooSox as Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager. She said her previous positions at the PawSox gave her an important perspective and contributed to the leadership style she utilizes every day at the ballpark.

"I think having that really strong foundation within the organization has set me up to be an understanding and empathetic leader in the organization, because I have that foundation, and I was in the shoes of so many people that I help to lead now," Cooper said.

Worcester Mayor Joe Petty with Brooke Cooper.

From Rhode Island to Massachusetts, Cooper's love for both sport and community helped guide her career in ways she did not expect. She said one of the most satisfying parts of her work is being immersed in the game-day atmosphere at Polar Park and working alongside such determined and resolute individuals at the WooSox.

"The most fulfilled I feel in my career is on a game day when we're getting ready for a big crowd or a big event and there's a million things going on and I get to walk around the ballpark, see what's going on, check in with people, knowing the names of everyone in different departments and just being able to say, 'Hi, how's your wife? How's your son? How's your...whatever it might be,'" Cooper said. "I think those personal interactions with people who work here is, to me, the greatest part about working here. People who work here are generally really happy to be here because of the experience that we provide. That feeling of when it all comes together and being able to share it and acknowledge the people who played a role in that is so special to me and something that I definitely appreciate every single game day."

According to Rea, Cooper has only begun to tap into her potential.

"She's got unlimited upside," he said. "I'm very eager to see where her career goes."

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