The publication is reproduced in full below:
RECOGNIZING TAMPA'S LOCAL TRAILBLAZER, LILLIAN COOPER STRINGER, IN
HONOR OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH
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HON. KATHY CASTOR
of florida
in the house of representatives
Monday, February 28, 2022
Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Madam Speaker, this Black History Month, I am proud to celebrate local trailblazers who have lifted up our Tampa Bay community. I rise today in immense gratitude for Lillian Cooper Stringer, a lifetime public servant who has been a leader to help ensure safety, dignity and vitality for thousands of neighbors. Born in Bartow, Fla., Mrs. Stringer moved to Tampa--into public housing--at a young age. Her mother did not complete middle school and she was one of five siblings. Precocious, in third grade Mrs. Stringer received the highest grade for English composition in all of Hillsborough County. The accolades and recognition she received from this became a pivotal moment that catapulted her into a true understanding that higher education was key to lifting herself out of poverty. She worked hard to earn good grades and remain an active student, including as a dancer and member of the Middleton High School Tiger's drill team.
In 1978, Mrs. Stringer received her bachelor's degree in Radio, Television, Film Communication and English Education from the University of Maryland College Park Campus. Mrs. Stringer had stints with landmark local organizations before joining Tampa Housing Authority, including Hillsborough Community College, Hyatt Regency and WFLA.
She found a special calling where she currently serves as the Director of Community Affairs for the Tampa Housing Authority, one of the largest housing authorities in the state and the state administrator for Assisted Housing/Section 8. Since starting in 1990, she has served the agency in various capacities, including all areas of resident initiatives; social services; inter-agency involvement; staff employee and resident training; as well as serving as a local and national housing advocate and agency spokeswoman. With little to no senior engagement available when she started with Tampa Housing Authority, she launched initiatives to improve senior safety and healthy community living--what she has erected and developed serves as a national model and will leave a lasting legacy. She developed numerous programs for Tampa Housing Authority's older residents through Elderly Services Initiatives to keep senior citizens engaged, including the foster-grandparent supports and intergenerational programs that connect seniors with youth. She also developed and coordinated plans for the first on-site clinic at an elderly property and created
``Senior Spotlight,'' a column that highlights the accomplishments of elderly residents. She coordinated the first ``Senior Cabaret,'' an event designed to provide an opportunity for the elderly to interact, socialize and meet elderly residents from other properties.
Catapulting students in public housing into successful lives through education, as she herself did, became a passion and for years she coordinated a scholarship that also equipped students with luggage and laptops as they were sent off to college. She managed the first Family Day Care Homes, which provides an opportunity for qualified, unemployed seniors to keep no more than six young people in their home environment, as well as the Youth Sports and Cultural Program, Resident Enterprise Assistance Program, Revolving Loan Program and the agency's Recycling Center.
Mrs. Stringer's current and prior memberships include Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, local chambers of commerce, Public Relations Society of America, American Association of University Women, Florida Bar Grievance Committee, Metropolitan Ministries Advisory Board and Leadership Tampa Bay. She even owned her own boutique, Chez Lilly, from 2007 to 2011. Mrs. Stringer has been married for 40 years to former Judge Thomas E. Stringer and she is mother to Roderick Eugene Cooper.
Mrs. Stringer's accomplishments did not come by mere accident or simply because they were part of her job duties. Rather, Mrs. Stringer has gone above and beyond her professional obligations because her personal experience, passion for dignity, and commitment to preserving Tampa's African American heritage led her to approach community engagement in new, innovative ways. Madam Speaker, on behalf of a grateful Nation and Tampa Bay community, I am proud to recognize the service and leadership of Lillian Cooper Stringer.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 36
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