Martin Cohen - The Cultural Planning Group

Martin Cohen joined The Cultural Planning Group in 2010 following a 30-year career in arts administration and arts philanthropy. He has led and partnered on a variety of projects that currently include co-leading the cultural planning process for San Diego, CA and Nashville, TN. Current and recent projects include co-leading a statewide Creative Economy Strategic Plan for the State of Washington Department of Commerce in partnership with WESTAF; partnering with AECOM on a cultural equity assessment for LA County Department of Arts and Culture and strategic planning for the San Francisco Arts Commission; developing an analysis of arts grantmaking across the three-county Portland (OR) region; and development of a Strategic Cultural Action Plan accompanied with a plan for the Film Office for Fulton County, GA; and cultural plans for the City of Greensboro, NC, Round Rock, TX. Additionally, Martin developed the Cultural Economic Development master plan for the Arts Council of Greater Lansing and has served as co-lead for the firm for Boston Creates, the cultural planning process for the City of Boston and the City of Kansas City, MO. From 2010through 2012 he served as the project director for development of the Local Arts Index, a national project of Americans for the Arts. In his role, he coordinated the research process of 100+ participating local arts agencies and led the design for primary research in each location.

Prior to joining as a Partner with CPG, Martin served as director of the Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative (PCMI), a program of the

Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. In his role with PCMI, Martin conceived and implemented a comprehensive capacity building program focused onfacilitating organizational change and implementing best practices throughout the arts, culture and heritage sector of the five-county Philadelphia region. During his tenure, he created and launched programs focused on organizational assessment, providing organizations with opportunities for guided reflection and planning. Prior to his position with PCMI, he served as executive director of Dance/USA (the national service organization for dance), the Kansas City Ballet, the Washington Ballet, and the AMAN Folk Ensemble of Los Angeles.