Ended soon
Editor’s Note: This remembrance of David Cohen, who passed away on November 29, is by ISC Senior Program Officer Gretchen Elias. You can read more about David and his legacy here and here.
[slideshow name=”David Cohen Blog”]
I had already spent well over five years supporting scores of civil society advocates in Ukraine, Macedonia, Serbia, and Kosovo through ISC’s USAID-funded programs in those countries before I finally met him in person.
I had told the story of his work and impact dozens of times – of how the Advocacy Institute’s curriculum for social justice advocates was such a core part of ISC’s program in these countries, that when the Advocacy Institute decided that it would best further its mission to entrust its assets to another organization, we were a natural fit. Of how he was in many ways the heart and soul of that advocacy capacity building work, an inspiration and mentor and role model for hundreds of advocates worldwide. About his long career as a citizen advocate and his ability to draw from those experiences when meeting ISC NGO grantees by immediately trading “war stories” with them about exactly the kinds of struggles or challenges they were facing in their own advocacy work.
I had spoken to him on the phone a handful of times, requesting his expert advice for a group of ISC grantees coming to Washington DC as part of the Advocacy Fellows Program – his legacy, that he had passed on to us. Those conversations were brief and cordial and they terrified me! He was hopeless with paperwork and bureaucracy – perhaps he had been more facile before the era of computers – and getting him to complete consulting contracts sent via email was always a challenge. So I had to call and annoy him about paperwork – how petty and small, to bother a legend! Yet he was so gracious about it, and so understanding. I broached the awkward topic of the appropriate level of compensation and my recollection is that he brushed it off. “Of course I’ll do it. The money isn’t important. Just send me what needs to be signed – by fax! We’ll make it work.”
Then, finally, I had a long-awaited chance to travel to Washington DC and I reached out to request a meeting. An actual face-to-face to get his advice, his perspective, his insight. He agreed, and proposed that we meet in the lobby of a downtown hotel. At the time, ISC was just beginning to explore the possibility of working in Bangladesh. I was part of the team assessing this opportunity and had flagged the fact that a Bangladesh was home to a number of Fellows Program graduates (from pre-ISC cohorts). I had even found that several of them worked on environmental issues that related, in some respects, to ISC’s current focus on sustainable manufacturing. I mentioned this to David, who recalled each of the advocates by name. Asked us to give them his regards if we contacted them. Gave me a mini lesson on the Bangladeshi government system and its dysfunction. I was rapt.
After that meeting, I had the honor and privilege to invite him to speak with two more cohorts of Serbian Advocacy Fellows. Each time I was struck at how commanding his presence was – this aging, stooped, unassuming-looking man would sit down with a dozen twenty-something strangers and would work his magic. He didn’t follow script – didn’t structure the conversation. He just listened to their stories and told some of his. And it was magical.
A little bit of David Cohen’s magic has stayed with each of those citizen advocates. I know, because his magic has stayed with me.