Alan Cohen

Alan Cohen is the Founder & CEO of the Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL), a Dallas-based nonprofit that advances economic mobility by using data to broker collaboration and innovation between residents, community organizations, and local government agencies. Prior to CPAL, Alan was best known for his work as the architect of the Dallas Independent School District's nationally recognized early childhood education strategy. Additionally, he served as chief of Washington State’s public-private partnership for early learning. As a respected leader in his community, Alan has been appointed to positions as the Co-Chair of the Dallas Mayor’s Task Force on Safe Communities and as a member of the Dallas Mayor’s Steering Committee on Workforce Development. He also serves on the boards of United To Learn, Groundwork DFW, Workforce Solutions of Greater Dallas, and The Commit Partnership. Cohen earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and his B.A. in Sociology from Tulane University. He is also a recent graduate of the Presidential Leadership Scholars program, which is a collaboration among the Presidential Centers of George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson.

I believe that the most powerful innovations for advancing economic mobility will come from local communities. The team at Harvard’s EdRedesign Lab has been relentless in supporting place-based leaders and promoting an integrated, cross-sector, and personalized approach to improving outcomes. I am honored to be a Senior Fellow and excited to contribute to the By All Means community with on-the-ground insights from Dallas.

- Alan Cohen