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Clara Denise West, Ph.D. is an award-winning author, engineer, educator, songwriter, and the creator of the Koko and Friends™ universe — a restorative system designed to protect childhood and rebuild emotional and moral safety for children.
Her mission was born the night her eight-year-old daughter attempted suicide after relentless bullying. Conversations failed. The school dismissed her concerns. Only a simple story — about a small bullied bug named Koko — opened the door to her daughter being able to express her pain. That moment became the foundation for a movement dedicated to healing, safeguarding, and empowering children everywhere.
Dr. West is one of fewer than 3,000 Black women in U.S. history to earn a Ph.D. in engineering, and less than one percent of only 8,000 women nationwide to hold the FCC Extra Class Amateur Radio License, placing her among the most technically proficient communicators in the nation.
Her work integrates systems engineering, social-emotional learning, trauma-responsive practice, moral development, psychographics, and storytelling to create transformative programs for schools, communities, and families.
The seeds for Koko and Friends were planted when my eight-year-old daughter attempted suicide due to peer bullying.
After finding no resources she could relate to, I discovered her dislike for bugs. I used purposeful storytelling to create stories about a family of bugs her age who were bullied by the “cool” house bugs.
As my daughter connected emotionally with the bullied bugs, I was able to enter her world, see life through her eyes, and help repair her broken heart.
Koko and his cousins are not superheroes with superpowers. They are underdogs experiencing the same ups and downs of young children in the bug world. They refuse to allow anyone to break their spirits or kill their dreams. Koko is an acronym for “Keep on keepin’ on!” – Never, ever, give up!
“With the right guidance at the right time, children can overcome any situation.”
Bullying among young children is a serious global problem that is rampant, widespread, and pervasive with negative and sometimes fatal consequences. Children don’t always know how their words and actions affect others. It’s up to us to equip them with the social and emotional skill sets they need to act, interact, and react appropriately in peer settings.
Koko and Friends is committed to producing animated videos, books, and feature films with positive messages that impart problem-solving, coping, choices and consequences, and self-regulation skills before bullying and group exclusion lead to suicide or violence.
Koko and Friends is about saving lives!
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