Lisa Land Cooper has worn many hats during her professional life, first working as a paralegal and legal researcher for over 20 years, then embarking on a career as an educator. Since leaving the classroom, she has authored her first book, written university-level courses and become a featured weekly columnist for the Douglas County Sentinel, her home county’s newspaper.
Elementary History Teacher
During her time teaching American History and Language Arts to fourth and fifth graders, Lisa began blogging about her classroom experiences, as well as history and history education. Her blog, “History Is Elementary,” quickly gained the attention of educators, history lovers and even USA Today, which featured Lisa’s blog prominently in a 2007 article about teachers who blog.
Blogger x 3
Wanting outlets for her exploration of Georgia and Douglas County history, Lisa created two more blogs: “Georgia On My Mind,” and “Every Now and Then.” This website brings together all three of Lisa’s focus areas, and also provides a platform from which she can offer her books, curriculum and other work.
Author
Lisa’s book Douglasville, a pictorial history of Douglas County, Georgia, was released in 2014. Part of Arcadia Publishing’s “Images of America” series, the book surpassed Arcadia’s three month sales goal in just the first month. Lisa is currently working on two more books: Every Now and Then: The Amazing Stories of Douglas County, to be released in 2015; and a memoir of her classroom teaching days, slated for a 2016 release.
Curriculum Designer
Though writing has been a more prominent outlet for Lisa’s passion for history, her love of and skill for teaching led her to develop complete curriculum for educators, which will eventually be offered for purchase on this site. She has also worked with Laureate Education, writing courses used by Johns Hopkins School of Education.
Community Champion
Lisa currently serves on the board of the Cultural Arts Council of Douglas County, is a member of the Design Committee for Main Street Douglasville, and is a member of the Douglas County History and Tourism Commission as well as several Atlanta-area historical societies.
