Jackie Cohen
Associate Director of
Youth Development
On staff since 2001

EXPERTISE:
Strength based training—looking at youth and family assets and how to build on them; collaboration with the community and schools.

PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT:
The 10th year anniversary carnival of Parsons Beacon in summer 2009—we had 700 community residents come who had taken part in our programs and services over the years. We were really celebrating ten years of happiness, and there’s nothing better you can give a person than happiness.

FAVORITE PART OF HER JOB:
After eleven hours at work one day, I called a friend and she said you sound so happy. It’s true: I enjoy all the interaction with participants and staff. I put a lot of emphasis on what brings people together. Being promoted from Parsons Beacon Director to Associate Director of Youth Development means I oversee all five Child Center Beacons. I am more focused than ever on building on our mission: servicing all the needs of our diverse community—from ages 6 to adult—with welcoming, creative programs.

HOW THE CHILD CENTER HELPS TURN LIVES AROUND:
Our Beacons are somewhere you can grow up, where you come as a kid and become a teenager, become a volunteer, and then a paid intern. Our young people learn how to be responsible, how to mentor, how to make friends and how to treat others the way they want to be treated.