Benita honored in 2025 Women of Excellence by SJ Mag
Benita was honored as one of 7 remarkable women in South Jersey by SJ Mag, recognizing her for Business Excellence. Read Benita’s profile below from the May 2025 edition of the magazine.
Benita Cooper sees architecture differently than most people.
“At the scale of everyday living – of somebody at a fridge and being able to turn around and have the perfect countertop next to them and the coffee pot happens to be in a little nook that just makes one moment of their every day better – that is making a difference,” she says, “At the most seemingly insignificant, tiny, everyday scale, good business is still about making a difference.”
Benita was only 28 when she started her own architecture, design and construction firm, Benita Cooper Design, at her dining table in Philly. And only 29 when she started her nonprofit connecting seniors with younger generations to tackle loneliness, called The Best Day of My Life So Far.
In the years since, she and her team have expanded operations to Haddonfield. She’s won several architecture awards, has spoken at industry conferences and started her own custom furniture business.
In her day-to-day work, Benita sets an example for young women, especially young Asian women who might not realize they can have a role in the architecture field – women make up only 27% of licensed architects in the U.S. But she also takes a proactive role in the fight to raise that number, teaching STEM classes for young students at local libraries and schools.
“I can’t have a career as a woman in a minority, in a male dominated field, and not do something for the next generation of girls,” she says. “For me, it’s a requirement.”
Then there’s the small scale, where Benita changes the lives of people with something that seems as simple as a nice home. “I have this sense of purpose that buildings mean more than just the building,” Benita says. “It means better quality of life for the people who use the building, who live in the building, and better communities for the places that the buildings exist in.”
“I can only do as much as my company can touch,” Benita adds, “but if I’m doing it right, that ripple effect can be large. It can be powerful. It can bring communities together.”
Read about the other amazing local women honored by SJ Mag by reading the full feature here.