This month the Mountain States Spotlight shines on Dan Cohen, who, after five years as Assistant and then Associate Director of Education, has been promoted to Director of Education for the ADL Mountain States Region.

Dan (he/him), a Denver native, has spent much of his professional life in education, social justice, civil rights, and diversity, equity, inclusion, justice & belonging. Before joining ADL’s Mountain States Region in 2017, Dan was an Equity Specialist at the Western Educational Equity Assistance Center, a US Department of Education/Office for Civil Rights agency with a mission to promote equitable educational access and opportunities in the areas of race, national origin, sex and religion. Dan’s focus was on discrimination based on sex and gender (including Title IX, sexual orientation, and gender expression/identity), as well as bullying and anti-bias prevention and policy.

A former middle school teacher, Dan encountered myriad students who were struggling academically, socially and/or emotionally due to lack of support at home and school for their evolving sexual orientations and/or gender identities. Dan guided students in starting the school’s first Gender Spectrum Alliance/Equality Club and instituted programs such as ADL’s No Place for Hate® framework, both of which are still going strong!

When asked to reflect on his new role as Education Director, Dan said,

I’m excited to take on this new role because this work combines so much of what I believe is necessary to promote and nurture justice and belonging for all humans: empathy, understanding, recognition, listening, education, and the heartfelt belief that every person’s narrative, identities, and humanness must be valued. I come to this place with not just skills, knowledge, and talent, but also with an open heart, open mind, and the fact that I will always have something to learn.

Congratulations, Dan!