Dearly-loved husband, father, and brother Joel Cogen passed away on November 8, 2014, at the age of 81, after a full life.
A graduate of New York City High School of Music and Art, Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and Yale Law School, Joel was a humanitarian, entrepreneur, musician, and lover of the arts.
In June of 2007, Joel retired as executive director and general counsel of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) – Connecticut’s association of cities and towns. Joel started the organization in 1966, dedicated to advocating for the interests of Connecticut municipalities and promoting efficiency and responsiveness within municipal governments. Over the years and under his leadership, CCM grew in size and influence to the point where it is now the dominant voice for Connecticut’s cities and towns. In addition, Joel served as the original chief executive officer of CCM’s captive insurance pool, which allows CCM’s member towns to pool their resources to purchase workers’ compensation and risk management insurance.
Before his tenure at CCM, Joel spent nine years at the New Haven Redevelopment Agency – the largest urban renewal program in the nation outside of New York City –while at the same time working as an assistant for then-mayor Richard C. Lee. While there, he created new programs in housing, community and human resource development, and manpower training. He was credited for developing and organizing housing co-ops for low-income families – an endeavor in which New Haven led the nation.
From 1968 to 1976, Joel was a partner in Cogen, Holt, and Associates, an urban affairs consulting firm specializing in management, planning, evaluation, financing, and development. For Joel, neither ownership nor the prospect of financial gain was a sufficient justification for his work. This was a moral issue for him. Far more important were the needs of the client, the reputation of the firm, and the importance of doing work of some larger social value. As one colleague wrote of Joel: “despite his personal intellect and work skills, his chief talent has been his ability to shape the process of decision-making so as to bring out the most creative in those around him.”
Joel exhibited a lifelong love of the arts as an avid theatre‑, museum‑, and concert-goer. He was an accomplished flutist, and for more than 20 years performed regularly with the Wayland Woodwind Quintet at local venues including the Yale Center for British Art.
He is survived by his wife, Beth Gilson, a New Haven lawyer, and by his children from his first wife, the late Sarah Myrick Cogen, daughter, Jessica Cogen, of Arlington, VA, and son, Jeffrey Cogen and his wife, Kerry Busarow Cogen of Flemington, NJ, five grandchildren, Andrew, Jennifer, and Adam Cogen, and Trevor and Eric Newton, and Joel’s brother and sister-in-law, Edward and Ruth Cogen of Washington D.C.
Services will be held at Congregation Mishkan Israel in Hamden, CT on Sunday, November 16, 2014 at 1:00 in the afternoon. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
