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Shem Cohen, M.S.O.D. M: (518) 727-2228 Address: Box 8706 Albany, New York 12208 email: shemcohen@verizon.net

Linked In Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shemcohen Practice Url: www.ChangeEvents.com

Organization and Leadership Development Professional

- Helping Leaders to Align, Focus, Develop and Energize Organizations to High Performance - Highly-experienced Organization & Leadership Development Consultant, Facilitator, Trainer and Change Professional who generates significant value for organizations through improving human- and organizational-systems, collaboration, strategic clarity and focus, leadership & management capabilities and productive/meaningful employee & stakeholder engagement.

Expertise OD Initiative Design & Leadership Strategic Planning – Design/Delivery Leading Organizational Change Partnership/Alliance Building Cross-Boundary Collaboration M/A Integration Positive Culture Evolution Collective Solution Discovery & Action

Leadership Development: - Executive Coaching - Training Design & Delivery Facilitation & Interventions: - Executive Teams - Small & Large Groups Future Search; GE Work Out; Appreciative Inquiry; Open Space

People, Collaboration Systems Thinking Innovation Team Building, Diplomacy Skills Training: Design/Delivery Collaborative Negotiation Conflict Resolution Employee Engagement

Mr. Cohen’s work is included in three globally published books on best-practice collaboration and planning including the recently published, award winning, “Productive Workplaces, 25th Anniversary Edition” by Dr. Marvin Weisbord. Mr. Cohen has also been honored to appear as guest thought leader for In2In, the OD learning group sponsored by Aerojet Rocketdyne, the historic builder of rockets for NASA and the Defense Department; as presenter for the Project Management Institute; and as guest faculty for New York University Stern School of Business Executive Education Program. Professional Experience 1995 – Present Principal and CEO of Cohen Associates, then Change Events, Inc. (2002) a boutique Organization Development consulting firm specializing in helping leaders to align, focus, develop and energize organizations, lead change, resolve critical business and human system concerns, and develop leaders and leadership teams to their greatest potential.

Project Portfolio (Samples) Global Product, Service & Technology Perkin Elmer - Design and leadership of a development initiative to affect a successful merger-integration of three acquired companies and form the new PE Informatics Business; Create a strategic plan and two-year roadmap for the business. Xerox Corporation - Consulting assignment to assist the New York executive group through a leadership transition including team building to align goals, roles, strategy & relationships & greater develop desired ‘leadership culture’. Cognex – Design and facilitation of an executive-level strategic planning and leadership development initiative to position this leading technology/manufacturing business for rapid market growth. Del Monte Foods - Design and leadership of a whole-system planning summit for the recently restructured US Marketing organization (160 participants) resulting in the creation of the North America Marketing Plan, improved corporate-regional integration, greatly improved cross-boundary collaboration and strategies/actions for creating improvements across the organization.

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Shem Cohen Marriott - Strategic planning and leadership development initiative to assist with a leadership transition and align the Northeast US Leadership Team, creating clarity/agreements re: goals, strategy, roles, values, performance benchmarks and leadership. Church and Dwight (Brand, ‘Arm &’ Hammer’) - Design and leadership of a collaborative strategic planning initiative for this $1.5B/yr company that brought together the North America Marketing Organization (9 product lines) to create a North America Marketing Plan, develop targeted capabilities and a performance management framework for the organization.

(Clients also include: Heineken USA, Lucent Technologies, Pfizer, Pepsico, Cellular One, Johnson and Johnson, Anheuser-Busch, (and others) custom designing and facilitating strategic planning initiatives, experiential learning and team building programs & leadership/management training and development. Government The United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations - 14-month OD consulting project, reporting to the Ambassador and Deputy Ambassador, delivering Strategic Planning, Change Management and Leadership Development services to: Improve Mission cross-Section collaboration, communications and relationships; Help resolve important labor-management concerns; ECOSOC Section leadership transition, leadership coaching, strategic planning, team building and new team launch; Management Section: strategic planning, teambuilding, performance improvement, and capability building/customer service training. The British Government, British Consulate-General & UK Home Office - Establish a North America Network of Visa-Issuing Posts, create a North America business plan and strategy for implementing significant policy, process and technology changes across the Western Hemisphere, create framework for implementation of the new points-based UK visa issuing system and utilization of biometrics across the Western Hemisphere. The New York State Department of Labor - Organizational Change Management specialist for NYSDOL’s System Modernization Project, a multi-year change initiative to architect and deploy new technologies in the NY State Department of Labor, re-engineer business processes and affect organizational change. Finance The Federal Reserve Bank - Strategic planning initiative involving leaders and stakeholders from across the US Federal Reserve system to develop a plan for creating the future research computing environment for research economists of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, resulting in a $ multi-million IT system improvement initiative which satisfied the needs of stakeholders and supported by all. JPMorgan Chase - Various assignments including: Strategic Planning and Change Management to restructure JP Morgan Chase’s Global Internet Funds Transfer Business; Strategic Planning for Client Access; Leadership Transitions; Conflict Resolution; Executive Coaching assignments; and design/leadership of management trainings (Performance Management Process; Team Building; Career Development). Credit Agricole Bank - Design and delivery of workshops for senior managers, “Creating Value through Cross-Boundary Collaboration” which resulted in strategies and action plans to realize organic growth goals and cross-boundary value generation. (Finance & Insurance client assignments have also included projects for: Shearson-Lehman, Goldman Sachs, Chase Manhattan Bank, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Chub Insurance, and Soros Fund Management) Healthcare Capital District Physicians Health Plan ($2B/year not-for-profit health plan)- Organization Development, Strategic Planning, Change Management & Leadership Development:

Consultant to senior leadership team to create a three-year corporate roadmap for the company founded in the Board Business Plan, Health Value Strategy;

Design and facilitation of a cross-functional leadership planning initiative to create an action plan for managing the influx of tens of thousands of new Medicaid members, optimally manage costs, improve access and quality of care;

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Shem Cohen

OD Consulting, diplomacy, meeting design and facilitation to broker a strategic alliance based on Health Value between CDPHP and a 200-member provider group outside of CDPHP’s core geography;

Organization development consulting and strategic planning to help onboard the new Chief Medical Officer, establish his leadership team and the newly formed Medical Affairs Division, facilitate development of 2-year goals, roadmap and action plan for the division;

Strategic Planning, Change Management consulting & skills training to effect a successful restructuring & create a divisional strategy for the Network and Contracting Division which negotiates/maintains $1.5B in provider contracts per year;

Strategic Planning, Change Management and Team Building with the Chief Medical Officer and Senior Medical Director team focused on population health management;

Various Executive Coaching Assignments at the SVP, VP and Director Levels.

Iowa Health System - (Now UnityPoint Health - 7th largest non-profit Health System in the United States: 8 geographic regions over Iowa and Illinois; 24,000 employees, over 900 physicians and specialists) -- Organization Development and Strategic Planning with IHS IT leaders and managers to: Create a two-year Technology Roadmap, tying projects to: Corporate Strategy; Tatum Strategy; IT Governing Council Principles; Subcommittee and Technology Strategy; Launch development of business cases for identified projects; Involved planners in a cross-boundary, collaborative planning process to improve planning integration & create and implement a congruent and executable IT strategy. Doylestown Hospital - Design and leadership of a county-wide strategic planning initiative which brought together hospital senior leaders, board members and senior representation of every primary care and specialist practice in Central Bucks County, PA to define the ‘Future of the Practice of Medicine in Central Bucks County’ & implement cross-network actions to better integrate care. Law Meyer Suozzi English and Klein, P.C - Leadership of an OD consulting project (strategic planning and consultative interventions) to help this leading Northeast US law firm (whose partners include former White House, Legislative and NY State executives) create a firm-wide vision & strategy; improve integration of practice areas; and productively address substantive business and internal partnership issues. Maynard, O'Connor, Smith & Catalinotto, LLP- Leadership of an OD consulting project (strategic planning, consultative interventions and executive coaching) to help this 90-year, leading upstate NY law firm create a firm-wide strategic plan, improve organizational capability and successfully address various partner-level concerns. Environment The National Parks Conservation Association - OD consulting, change management and executive coaching to help successfully establish NPCA’s new Northeast US Region (New England, NY and NJ); improve integration between the region and the national organization; and assist leaders in creating solutions to priority human-system concerns. New York-New Jersey Harbor Restoration Coalition – Facilitated the establishment and launch of a coalition of ten leading national and local environmental and community groups to: 1) establish, structure, develop the strategy & mobilize the coalition; and 2) propel the Army Corps of Engineer's NY/NJ Harbor Comprehensive Restoration Plan forward to achieve a transformation of the region’s waterfront, including its commercial, residential and recreation areas, while restoring the natural resources of the Lower Hudson and Raritan Estuaries. (The coalition went forward to successfully secure $300M in funding from the NYC Mayor’s Office). Hudson River Keeper – Facilitated the creation of HRK’s strategic plan, as well as systemic/operational performance improvements for the organization. Small-Mid Size Business The American Taekwondo Association/World Traditional Taekwondo Union - OD Consulting project for the world’s largest martial arts organization (over one million members) including strategic planning, consultative interventions, organizational change and executive coaching. In work with owners, executives, managers, employees and stakeholders from around the US, facilitated the creation of a new vision for the ATA; a North America Strategic Plan; an organizational re-design and implementation; and the successful address of critical owner/leadership concerns resulting from the untimely death of the Founder, Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee.

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Shem Cohen AmeriBag, Inc. - Organization Development consulting project to improve leadership/leadership team capabilities and performance to develop effective team leadership of US operations while the founder/owner focused on establishing another manufacturing facility outside the US. (Small-mid size business client assignments have also included projects for many small businesses and partnerships; services include strategic planning, change management, leadership development/training, succession planning, and conflict resolution. Clients span an array of industries including manufacturing, print, marketing, digital media, arts management, residential services, construction and technology services). Not-for-Profit - clients have included: Washington Public Radio, Rural Opportunities Inc., National School & Community Corps, Rural and Migrant Ministries, AmeriCorps, Women’s Studio Workshop, Hudson River Clearwater, Hudson Valley Technology and Commerce and others; services include strategic planning, board development, leadership development, team building, capital campaigns and conflict resolution). Education – Clients have included: State University of New York, Rockefeller College, Albuquerque Public Schools, BOCES, Poughkeepsie Public Schools, Columbia University, and many private schools and residential group homes.

Training Design, Delivery

Leadership; Leading Teams to High Performance; Systems Thinking; Leading Successful Organizational Change; Strategy Development in Times of Uncertainty; Performance Management Skills for Managers; Coaching Skills for Leaders and Managers; Collaborative Negotiation; Creativity and Innovation; Creative Problem Solving; Difficult Conversations; The Art of Feedback; Conflict Resolution and Mediation; Communication Skills for Exceptional Customer Service; Personality and Work Styles (MBTI); Group Facilitation Skills; Team Building; Train-the-Trainer.

Education, Presentations, Certifications and Publications

Master of Science in Organization Development, American University School of Public Affairs

Bachelor of Science, Towson University, Baltimore, MD

Guest Faculty, New York University Stern School of Business, Executive Education Program

Guest Thought Leader, Rocketdyne Learning Group, In2In (www.rocket.com)

Keynote & Workshop Leader for the Project Management Institute

Keynote/Workshop Leader for ASTD Certifications: Dialogue; Future Search; Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), DiSC; FIRO B; KEYS; Open Space Technologies Publications: Honored to have my work included in three globally published books on collaboration and planning including: ‘Productive Workplaces, 25th Anniversary Edition’ by Marvin Weisbord; ‘Future Search’ and ‘Don’t Just do Something…’ by Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff; numerous articles published for the Future Search Network journal; Cited in the ODN Journal ‘OD Practitioner’. - “Being the Leader Others Want to Follow (What Really Makes a Leader)” – Linked In, Pulse: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/being-leader-others-want-follow-what-really-makes-shem-cohen -“Successful Execution on Strategy and Change” – Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/shemcohen/successful-execution-strategy-changeshem-cohenchange-events-incjan-2014 Early Career -- Experiential Learning Specialist, Program Director, Supervisor & Trainer – Adventure-Based Counselor for Social Services and Mental Health agencies, schools, group homes and camps to design and lead experiential learning programs for youth-at-risk. Positions involved: program design/development & leadership, program/budget management, training, crisis intervention, counseling, conflict resolution; Certifications: New York State Certified Wilderness Guide; New York State Certified Emergency Medical Technician; Certified High/Low Ropes Course Supervisor, Instructor, Train-the Trainer; Peer Mediation; Assorted credits accumulated in counseling, crisis intervention, family systems theory and facilitation skills through Departments of Social Services & various Mental Health agencies. - Professional Musician, Performer, Composer and Teacher – (Classical Guitarist) Part time faculty, Towson State University Music Department/ Preparatory Division; private student body of avg. 60-80 students; Classical/Fingerstyle Guitar Performer for private functions and concerts.

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Shem Cohen Client Testimonials

“From a dangerously under-performing company, this campaign returned us to profitable operations and almost doubled the highest level of profitability previously attained. I can′t thank you enough for your contribution to this remarkable turnaround” -- - CEO, Medrex, Ltd “This initiative has been successful beyond our wildest expectations” -- - AVP, Head of Function, The Federal Reserve Bank “Thank you for helping us through a rather difficult and complex transition and helping us achieve so much progress in so little time”-- - Section Head, The United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations “ It was the most powerful executive team building program I’ve experienced in my 23 years with Xerox” - Employee Development Manager, Xerox Corporation “…the work you accomplished had effects that were immediate and far reaching. Silos were broken down, morale and teamwork were significantly improved and we created massive improvements in customer service… Like your other customers here at the Mission, my and my team’s expectations of this initiative were completely exceeded. Thank you for your efforts and obvious commitment to our best interests” -- Section Head, United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations “I am truly grateful for your abilities as a consultant who could not only analyze the critical issues hampering a more effective organization, but to then bring all the elements to the table and seemingly without effort, cast a strategy that has subsequently led to one of the most synergistic relations in the organization’s history” - Senior Region Director, Northeast US Region, National Parks Conservation Association “a superb job… the experience has set up my new team for a journey to high performance. I believe everyone is proud of the progress the team has made with your help” - Senior VP, Chief Medical Officer, Capital District Physicians Health Plan “I truly appreciate the impact you had on my life and the company” - CEO, American Taekwondo Association “Shem is a highly skilled organization development consultant and understands how to add value in his work with targeting solutions that meet both strategic needs as well as building trusting relationships with the key stakeholders involved. He quickly grasped our highly challenging business issues and helped lead our senior leadership team through an appreciative inquiry process to map out strategic action plans. Shem’s personal approach and executive coaching skills resulted in Shem working individually with several of our leaders. I can say without question, that Shem is one of the few people I have worked with over the years who delivers on his word, I trust implicitly, and is open to developing creative solutions that are designed to exceed the needs of his customers.” - Director of Corporate Learning Academy, CDPHP “I am particularly impressed by your ability to quick-study our organization and culture, and then to customize a venue to lead us to a plan for improving both… I believe that your efforts have invoked a positive change that will be long lasting. I am grateful”. - VP, General Manager, JPMorganChase “Shem is a true professional whose intuition and skills provided great assistance to us in improving communications at our law firm and facilitating productive strategic business planning. Shem takes great care in his responsibilities towards his clients, pays attention to detail and has fabulous solutions to complex problems. He always follows up. As a one on one coach, he is dynamic, responsive and thoughtful. Obstacles become manageable when Shem is involved. He is a master at bringing about self -learning and improving leadership and I would highly recommend him because of the benefits we have seen. - Partner, Maynard, O’Connor, Smith & Catalinotto, LLP “I recommend Shem Cohen for any project where high participation and responsible action make a difference.” - Marvin Weisbord, Co-Director, Future Search Network, Renowned Author and Consultant “Many disparate people ended up on the same page. It was nothing short of miraculous” - CEO, Oxclove Workshop “… some of the most meaningful and productive workshops I have witnessed in my many years doing this work” - Director, Learning & Development, New Hope Community