Lisa R. Cohen (who uses her middle initial because her name is so ubiquitous) is excited to be joining the the OHMA cohort as a part time Masters Candidate after 30 plus years as a full time network news producer, author, documentary filmmaker, adjunct professor and university administrator.

Currently, Lisa is the Director of Prizes administering the duPont-Columbia Awards at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She taught reporting, video production, and long form narrative video classes there for over a decade, while also directing/producing documentaries; about a maximum security prison hospice staffed by the inmates for the OWN Doc Club, and about the inequities of cancer care in this country for HBO. She also authored a book about the historic disappearance of Etan Patz in 1979 that ushered in a profound change in child rearing in America. Previous to that she produced long form stories and documentaries at ABC and CBS News for over 20 years. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a dual degree in International Relations and French, neither of which she particularly made use of in her career, but realizes it was an invaluable lesson in developing critical thinking skills and the ability to speak with a guttural R.

She’s eager to learn more about the distinctions and commonalities between journalism and oral history, acquire new skills, and dive back in to helping others tell stories to create a deeper understanding of ourselves.