During World War II, she became a member of the United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve, earning the rank of Yeoman Second Class during her service.

[7][8][9] The family was living in the Greenwood District of Tulsa on May 31, 1921, when a group of white men carrying torches entered their home and began destroying their belongings, including her sister's piano and her father's record player.

[3] In 1961 she received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Rochester, with her dissertation focusing on the learning abilities of children with Down syndrome.

[4] Hooker worked as an elementary school teacher until joining the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II.

[14] Hooker applied to the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) of the U.S. Navy, but was rejected due to her ethnicity.

Throughout training, Hooker became a Coast Guard Women's Reserve (SPARS) and had to attend classes and pass exams.

[17] In June 1946, the SPAR program was disbanded and Hooker earned the rank of petty officer 2nd class and a Good Conduct Award.

[15][18] After earning her master's degree from Teachers College of Columbia University, Hooker moved upstate to work in the mental hygiene department of a women's correctional facility in Albion County.

Hooker felt they were treated unfairly and re-evaluated them in hopes to help the women pursue better education and jobs after their time in the facility.

"[5] The correctional facility today continues to help women earn a degree and job experience for when they are released.

While working as a senior research scientist at Letchworth Village, she completed her dissertation titled, "Formboard Performance in Mongoloid, Undifferentiated, and Brain-injured children."

[5] She served as an early director of the Kennedy Child Study Center in New York City[14] where she gave evaluations, extra help, and support/therapy to children with learning disabilities and developmental delays.

[2] In 2000, Hooker met Zeita Merchant, a black woman who in 2021 became the first person of an ethnic minority to hold the role of Commanding Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Sector New York.

[2] In 2003, she was one of the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit filed against the state of Oklahoma and the city of Tulsa by more than 100 survivors and about 300 descendants of people who lost their lives or property in the attacks, seeking compensation due to the local governments' involvement in the massacre.