Cohen is the Senior Vice Dean of Columbia's School of Professional Studies and a Professor in the Practice of Public Affairs at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. He is also Director of the Master of Public Administration Program in Environmental Science and Policy at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, Director of the Masters of Science in Sustainability Management at Columbia University's School of Professional Studies, and the Director of the Earth Institute's Research Program on Sustainability Policy and Management at Columbia University. Cohen graduated from James Madison High School in Brooklyn, New York in 1970 and then attended Franklin College, in Franklin, Indiana where he received his B.A. in political science in 1974. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. from University at Buffalo, The State University of New York in political science, with a concentration in environmental policy and public policy. From 1976-1977, Cohen was a Ford Foundation Fellow in Urban Environmental Policy, and from 1978-1979, he was a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow in Public and Environmental Policy and Implementation. Cohen served as a policy analyst in the EPA from 1977-78 in the Office of Water and then in 1980-1981 in the Office of Hazardous Emergency Response and was responsible for developing and coordinating the implementation of public participation policy for the Agency's hazardous waste clean-up Superfund Program. He worked as a consultant to the agency from 1981-1991, 1994-1996, and 2005-2010. In 1981 he began working at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs as an assistant professor of political science and became the Director of the Graduate Program in Public Policy and Administration in 1985. From 1985 to 1998, he was the Director of Columbia's Graduate Program in Public Policy and Administration, and from 1998 to 2001 Cohen worked as the Vice Dean of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. In addition, Cohen was the Associate Dean for Faculty and Curriculum at SIPA from 1987-1998. From 2002 to 2006, he directed education programs at The Earth Institute, and became Executive Director in 2006. Cohen has acted as a consultant to the EPA's Superfund program, underground storage tank program and Region II management. Along with William Eimicke he has undertaken management consulting and training for a number of government and nonprofit organizations. Cohen often comments on regional and national environmental policies, from Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC to waste-to-energy options for urban areas, from the aftermath of 9/11 to global warming and nuclear energy. He is frequently mentioned in publications such as the Daily News, The New York Times, USA Today, and Financial Times on regional politics. Cohen has commented multiple times for both Fox News and NY1 television on the New York City mayoral race and the presidential campaigns. Cohen is the author of The Sustainable City, Understanding Environmental Policy, Sustainability Management, The Effective Public Manager, and the co-author of Management Fundamentals, Sustainability Policy: Hastening the Transition to a Cleaner Economy, The Responsible Contact Manager, Strategic Planning in Environmental Regulation, Tools for Innovators: Creative Strategies for Managing Public Sector Organizations, and Total Quality Management in Government. He has written numerous articles on public management, sustainability management, and environmental policy. Cohen also is a weekly contributor to The State of the Planet.
Selected publications
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Articles
"Managing Workfare:The Case of the Work Experience Program in the New York City Parks Department"
"Managing Privatization: The Tools, Skills, Goals and Ethics of Contracting"
"Environmental Policy at its Most Fundamental: The Case of New York City's Solid Waste Crisis"
"Public Participation and Shaping Urban Development: The Case of the Atlantic Yard and Nets Arena Project in Brooklyn"
