Resolution 210942

..Title Congratulating David L. Cohen on his confirmation as the United States Ambassador to Canada and recognizing his many contributions to public life and service in Philadelphia and beyond. ..Body WHEREAS, On July 21, 2021, President Joseph Biden announced his nomination of Philadelphian, David L. Cohen, to be the United States Ambassador to Canada. On November 2, 2021, he was confirmed in a unanimous and bipartisan vote of the U.S. Senate; and WHEREAS, David L. Cohen was born in New York and began his adult life in the Philadelphia region attending college at Swarthmore and graduating in 1977. Mr. Cohen then graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law in 1981; and WHEREAS, David's distinguished legacy of public service began with his tenure as Chief of Staff to Mayor Ed Rendell in Philadelphia from 1992 through 1997; and WHEREAS, During his work with the Rendell Administration, Mr. Cohen worked toward a revitalization of Philadelphia's economy as the City teetered on the brink of financial disaster. Mr. Cohen played a critical coordinating role in significant budgetary and financial issues, in economic development activities, in collective bargaining negotiations, and in a wide variety of other policy and operational issues relating to the City; and WHEREAS, Mr. Cohen has also enjoyed a prestigious legal career in Philadelphia as chairman of the law firm Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. After his time with the firm, Mr. Cohen began his career with Comcast in 2002; and WHEREAS, At Comcast, Mr. Cohen advanced to the position of Senior Executive Vice President where he led the company's strategy and development in a broad portfolio of responsibilities, from government relations, to legal and regulatory affairs, to communications, and more. Mr. Cohen was the first Chief Diversity Officer at Comcast; and WHEREAS, Mr. Cohen's service to Philadelphia's nonprofit and civic organizations is extensive and admirable. Notably, David was the founding Chair and continued as a member of the Trustee Board and the Executive Committee of Penn Medicine and was Chair of the University Trustees for 12 years. In addition, David served on both the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and was a member of the Chamber's CEO Council for Growth; and WHEREAS, Mr. Cohen has received numerous awards for his philanthropy. Most recently, he was awarded the Minority Corporate Counsel Lifetime Achievement Award (2017); the 4-H Brand Champion Award (2018), Kappa Alpha Psi's "Distinguished Citizens Award" (2019), the American Horizon Award from the Media Institute (2020), and the President's Award from the National Urban League (2020), and has consistently been named to Black Enterprise magazine's list of top corporate diversity executives; and WHEREAS, Mr. Cohen has said that as Ambassador, he "looks forward to working with our neighbors in Canada, and continuing to develop and grow what is a very strong and important relationship as we continue to fight the pandemic and build our economies back stronger"; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, THAT THE CITY COUNCIL OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby congratulates David L. Cohen on his confirmation as the U.S. Ambassador to Canada and recognizes his many contributions to public life and service in Philadelphia and beyond. ..End