staff bios
Randy I. Cohen
Vice President of Policy and Research
Randy Cohen is vice president of Policy & Research at Americans for the Arts, where he has developed the knowledge tools used to advance the arts in America since 1991. His recent work includes the two benchmark economic studies of the arts industry—Arts & Economic Prosperity 3, the national economic impact study of nonprofit arts organizations and their audiences; and Creative Industries, a statistical mapping study of the nation’s arts businesses using Dun & Bradstreet data. In 2006, he launched the National Arts Policy Roundtable in partnership with Robert Redford and the Sundance Preserve, a convening of national leaders who focus on issues critical to the advancement of American culture. Randy developed the Institute for Community Development and the Arts, which included working with the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities to create Coming Up Taller, the White House report documenting 225 arts programs for youth-at-risk; and the U.S. Department of Justice to produce the YouthARTS Project, the first national study to statistically document the impact of arts programs on at-risk youth. As a spokesman for Americans for the Arts, Randy has given speeches in 48 states and regularly appears in the news media—including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and on CNN and NPR.
Randy’s background includes working as a policy and planning specialist for the National Endowment for the Arts, founding the San Diego Theatre for Young Audiences and serving as its managing director, and working in medical research for Stanford University and Scripps Clinic. He is a board member of the Cultural & Heritage Tourism Alliance and Takoma Park Arts & Humanities Commission. Randy lives with his wife and two children in Takoma Park, Maryland.
E-mail Randy.
