James E. Cohen appointed President of the Valley Community Foundation
(Shelton, CT – January 25, 2008) James E. Ryan, chair of the Valley Community Foundation (VCF) Board of Directors, announced today that Derby attorney James E. Cohen has been named president and CEO of the Valley Community Foundation. “My fellow Board members and I are extremely pleased that Jamie Cohen has agreed to accept the position and devote his future energies to the continued success of our Valley Community Foundation.”
For the past 37 years, Cohen has been a partner in Cohen & Thomas, a Derby law firm his late father, David B. Cohen, established in 1936. Cohen will leave his position at Cohen & Thomas to assume the full-time duties of Foundation president on April 1. He will succeed Angela Powers, the first VCF president, who is leaving the position to become senior vice president of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
"When Angela advised us that she would be leaving, our Board developed a profile of skills and experience desired in our new executive. W hen we learned of Jamie’s interest in the position, the Board felt that his lifelong commitment to the Valley, coupled with his professional and volunteer experience, were amagnificent fit for the Foundation and for philanthropy throughout our whole community,” added Liz Kennard , VCF Board secretary.
A graduate of Derby High School, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Connecticut Law School, Jamie Cohen has been a practicing attorney since his admission to the Bar in 1971. He served as Derby’s Corporation Counsel for 9 years, and has been an Attorney Trial Referee for the Connecticut Superior Court since 1996. Cohen has been a member of many local civic organizations, including 7 years as a director of the DerbyPublic Library, and has been honored by several, including the Martin Luther King Brotherhood Award Committee and the Housatonic Council of Boy Scouts of America. He is the recipient of the 2006 Gold Seal Award from the Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Jamie is the son of Jane C. Cohen and the late David B. Cohen; the husband of Frances Ann DeToro; and the father of Matthew Cohen, of New York, and the late Daniel Cohen. A member of the VCF Board since 2004, Cohen has served as its vice-chair for the last two years. In that position, and through his work as a board member of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Cohen has gained valuable knowledge about community foundations which fueled his commitment to the success of VCF for his community by seeking to lead the organization.
Cohen commented, “I have always known that the third act in my life should be about doing, creating and leaving something that makes life better for others. I have learned that community foundations can provide each of us with the ability to do exactly that in this little corner of our world. My work for the Valley Community Foundation is truly a labor of love. It is, without any question, the most important thing I have ever done, or will ever do.”
VCF will hold its fourth Annual Meeting at 5pm onWednesday, January 30, at Ansonia High School, 20 Pulaski Highway. As part of the evening’s festivities, the Board will acknowledge the contributions of outgoing president, Angela Powers, and welcome the new president, Jamie Cohen. AllValley residents are invited. Please call the Foundation at 225-0880 to attend.
The Valley Community Foundation carries out the mission of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven in the cities and towns of Ansonia, Derby, Shelton, Seymour, and Oxford. The VCF is dedicated to making the Valley a better placeto live and work by increasing philanthropy, especially permanent endowments; connecting donors to needs and opportunities; and providing leadership on critical community issues.