Marquis Cooper is the Senior Pastor of Otter Creek Community Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is a 1994 graduate of Lee High School in Marianna, Arkansas. He earned A Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from Philander Smith College and a Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Counseling. He is also ABD (All But Dissertation) toward a Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. 

While attending Philander Smith College, Marquis was a recipient of the Walton Delta Scholarship. His freshmen class was the first group of students to receive this
scholarship.

Marquis is a licensed K-12 school counselor in the state of Arkansas and Tennessee. He currently serves as a school counselor at J.A. Fair K8 Preparatory School in the Little Rock School District.

Throughout his career, Marquis has received numerous honors and recognitions, including the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center’s Top 15 Trailblazers Award, the JV Educational Leadership Award, Citizen of the Year Award, Moton Strong-Lee Hall of Fame Inductee, Character Education Partnership Award, and the SRS
Community Leader of the Year Award.

Marquis has authored and published four books since 2009. His most recent book, “Real Men. Real Issues. Real Conversations. Real Solutions was published in 2023. He plans to release three additional books in 2027.

Pastor Cooper often shares the phrase, “If you leave and grow, you can come back and plant.”

Pastor Cooper has served in ministry for more than 20 years. He is the youngest of 22 children and is married to his wife, Karmen. Together, they have three children
and one goddaughter: Marquis, Cobie, Kalia, and Nia.