Washington, D.C. — The Center for American Progress today announced that it has named Erin Cohan to the position of chief of staff and vice president. Since 2015, Cohan has served as the inaugural director of state and local government affairs for CAP, where she has led CAP’s work with governors, mayors, state legislators, attorneys general, other elected officials, and stakeholder groups to advance progressive ideas at the state and local level.
“Erin has successfully advanced progressive ideas at all levels of government, and has done so with both strategic skills and policy smarts,” said Neera Tanden, president and CEO of CAP. “I am thrilled that she is bringing her wealth of experience to the chief of staff role.”
Prior to joining CAP, Cohan was director of intergovernmental affairs for the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, where she formulated former Gov. Garcia Padilla’s federal policy agenda and served as a liaison between the federal and commonwealth governments. From 2007 to 2013, she worked in the federal relations shop for the bipartisan National Governors Association (NGA), where she covered National Guard and defense issues; homeland security; and international affairs. While at NGA, Cohan led two gubernatorial trade missions to China and oversaw implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act with state “recovery czars.” Cohan also served as chief of staff to a legislator in Suffolk County, New York, and in various roles on political campaigns at all levels.
For more information, contact Allison Preiss at [email protected] or 202.478.6331.