[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 163 (Tuesday, October 2, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1358]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IN RECOGNITION OF BETSY COHN

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 2, 2018

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize 
Betsy Cohn, a leader and activist who has made a difference on the 
national stage. Ms. Cohn has been an advertising and marketing 
executive, a stalwart of Democratic politics and an outspoken feminist 
who has worked to elect women to office. On October 1, 2018, she 
celebrated her 80th birthday.
  Betsy Cohn has broken through glass ceilings and reached down for 
others to follow. She had an extraordinary career in marketing and 
public relations, starting in the Mad Men era when few women succeeded 
in becoming executives. She worked for some of the most iconic movie 
and television studios, heading departments and making significant 
contributions to the entertainment industry.
  Born Betsy Levitt, Ms. Cohn attended Syracuse University. In 1959, 
she was hired as a secretary at Kenyon & Eckhardt Advertising, where 
her talents were recognized, and she rose to become Head of Casting and 
then Director of Public Relations.
  In 1975, seeking an opportunity to have a bigger impact, Ms. Cohn 
left the advertising firm to become Director of Marketing (Non-
Theatrical) at Paramount Pictures. She became a Consultant for Showtime 
from 1977 to 1982, and then joined MGM/UA as Director of Pay TV where 
she remained until her retirement in 1986.
  In addition to her professional experience, Ms. Cohn has given 
generously of her time and attention to some of New York's greatest 
cultural and civic institutions. She has served on the advisory board 
of the Maxwell School of Citizenship at Syracuse and the New York State 
Tourism Advisory Organization. She is on the Central Park Conservancy 
Women's Committee; on the Lincoln Center Theater's Patron Committee; on 
the development committee board of Jazz at Lincoln Center; on the board 
and executive committee of New Dramatists; and a Co-Chair of the 
Chairman's Council of New York Historical Society.
  Ms. Cohn's deep knowledge and understanding America's cultural 
institutions were recognized when she was appointed by President Bill 
Clinton to the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, a 
committee established to advise the President, the National Endowment 
for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities on ways to 
promote private sector support for, especially at the state and local 
level.
  A longtime political activist, Ms. Cohn has been deeply involved in 
Democratic politics, and especially interested in helping women win. 
She served as Executive Vice President of the Women's Leadership Forum 
of the Democratic National Committee. When Hillary Clinton ran for 
Senate, Ms. Cohn was Vice Chair of Finance for her campaign. She was 
the co-creator of the Tri-State Maxed-Out Women's Committee for Hillary 
Clinton (2006 to 2008), which held information sessions and brought 
well-known leaders to speak with women who had been major donors to 
Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign. Ms. Cohn then created the 
Tristate Women's Maxed-Out Committee (2010 to present) whose political 
action committee supports Democratic women running for the U.S. House 
or Senate. Ms. Cohn also serves on the Board of Eleanor's Legacy, which 
raises funds for Democratic women in New York State.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the 
extraordinary contributions of Betsy Cohn, who has created 
opportunities for women to become leaders.

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