Jamal A. Cooks is the president of Chabot College in Hayward, California, where he champions access, justice, and excellence in education. As Vice President of NCTE, he brings a vision grounded in decades of scholarship, mentorship, and advocacy to amplify voices, promote inclusive literacy practices, and advance the field for future generations.
He has been a committed leader and contributor to NCTE for three decades, serving as a Rainbow Strand member, a Cultivating New Voices among Scholars of Color mentee, the Co-Chair of the Black Caucus of NCTE, and member of numerous key committees, including the NCTE Committee on Research, the Conference on English Leadership, and the David H. Russell Award for Distinguished Research in the Teaching of English Committee.
His commitment to equity, research, and representation is highlighted by being an NCTE Richard W. Halle Award for Outstanding Middle Level Educator winner. A prolific scholar, he has coedited volumes such as The Black Excellence Collective: A 10×10 Model for Academic and Student Success for Black Students (Chabot College) and Urban Middle Literacies (Voices from the Middle). His work in adolescent literacy and culturally relevant pedagogy has appeared in leading NCTE journals including English Journal and Voices from the Middle.