Dona Cooper-Dockery, MD, PA

I’m Dr. Dona E. Cooper-Dockery, a board-certified internal medicine physician and member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and the American Medical Association. I was born in Burnt Savannah, Westmoreland, Jamaica, and raised by my grandparents. Inspired by my grandmother, a nurse and midwife, I pursued medicine to serve communities in need. I earned my M.D. at Montemorelos University (graduating top of my class) and completed my Internal Medicine training at New York Medical College–Metropolitan Hospital Center.

Since 1997, I’ve served patients in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. In 1999, my husband and I founded Cooper Internal Medicine, which has grown into three thriving practices across two cities. In response to rising chronic disease, I launched the Cooper Wellness & Disease Prevention Center (2011), where our 8–12-week lifestyle programs have helped thousands reduce medications and, in many cases, reverse conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol. In 2018, I extended this mission by founding Foodamed—our “food as medicine” plant-based restaurant and emporium—making therapeutic nutrition both delicious and accessible.

Service is central to my calling. In 2010, I founded Faithful Path International Ministries, which has delivered medical and dental care to tens of thousands across Haiti, Jamaica, the Philippines, Greece, Senegal, and the U.S. We are now building a teaching hospital on 40 acres in Forikrom, Ghana, to expand access to quality care.

I host “Get Healthy with Dr. Cooper” and “Sé Saludable por Vida,” and I’m the author of Get Healthy for Life (Amazon bestseller), Fourteen Days to Amazing Health, Incredibly Delicious Vegan Recipes & Meal Plans, and the #1 Amazon children’s book Charlie Goes to the Doctor. I’ve been married to Dr. Nelson Dockery for 35 years; we have three adult children and have recently welcomed two daughters from Ethiopia into our family.