Dr. Shelley Cooper, Founder, Diversity Telehealth
Capturing the essence of Dr. Shelley Cooper is a bit challenging, because this powerhouse of a woman does so many different things at the same time! She is an educator, an entrepreneur, a small business owner, and a non-profit director, in addition to being a wife, mother, and grandmother. She taught at St. Agnes School for 15 years, and she is again serving the church and the school because she is the director of the School of Religion there. But that is only a part-time passion of hers.
She has a bachelor’s degree in business, a master’s degree in teaching, and a doctorate in instructional technology and distance education, with her dissertation being on telemedicine adoption. All of that prepared her to work in the technological side of medicine for public and private health, while creating software apps and start-up businesses.
Shelley’s late father had trouble accessing health care, and that informed her desire to make health care more accessible. She has created an app (originally called SureShow, now called Come On Now in beta testing) to alert a clinic and patient if there has been a “no-show” or cancellation, and a telehealth appointment could be inserted into that time slot.
In 2012, she created her company, Diversity Telehealth, to provide equitable, accessible health care to all communities through a virtual platform (Teledoc). Shelley then realized that she needed to implement a non-profit organization, so she could provide services at no cost to underserved individuals. With the non-profit, she could attend health fairs, churches, and schools to get the word out about telehealth and low-cost or no-cost options.
And, as if all that weren’t enough, Shelley created a new piece of software, an app called Remodel Relief. After experiencing a large financial issue trying to fix the foundation on her Romanelli home, her frustration led her to create a place where people can find, “Seamless Maintenance, Repair, and Recording for Properties and Vehicles” It started as a way to find trustworthy contractors and repair people. When someone pointed out it needed to serve disabled people, she added that to the software. Then she added the “inspection” portion, and after that, she added the “vehicle” portion – so that it was more encompassing and helpful. Overall, the app provides a subscription platform providing compassion, quality assurance, client communication, and project management all in one place.
Shelley’s guiding principles are: “I want my work to matter. I want to make people’s lives better. I want to promote accessible, affordable health, education, and housing.”
Featured in the March 21, 2026 issue of The Independent
By: Anne Potter Russ
