Born and raised in Côte Saint-Luc, Mike Cohen has a long record of involvement in the community as a participant in municipal programming, a volunteer, a journalist and a consultant for city and borough hall. He attended elementary and high school in Côte Saint-Luc and was elected as the city councillor for District 2 on November 6, 2005, taking 92 percent of the vote compared to his competitor. He was elected by acclamation for a second term in the fall of 2009.
As an involved resident of Côte Saint-Luc, he spent many years coordinating events for the city and advising municipal staff and elected officials on media relations. He served two terms on the Community Leisure Council, which advised city council on matters related to recreation and culture programs. Twice, he was presented with the Volunteer of the Year Award in the communications category.
Mike coached and officiated in the local baseball, hockey and soccer programs, served on different city committees and continues even today to speak with community and senior citizen groups. During the 11 years he spent as the national director of communications and Israel Affairs for Canadian Jewish Congress (1988 to 1999), he travelled across Canada, the United States, Europe and to Israel. In addition, he has worked very closely with Holocaust survivors. He also played an active role in the community as a volunteer for the Federation of Jewish Community Services (Federation CJA), ProMontreal, Jewish National Fund and as a founder of the Association of Young Jewish Adults. Today he serves as one of the coordinators of the annual Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors Sports Celebrity Breakfast.
Since February 1999 Mike has been the communications and marketing specialist for the English Montreal School Board , Quebec's largest English language public board, where he serves as the official spokesperson, oversees the website and handles all matters related to press relations, advertising, marketing and promotions. He is a graduate of the Concordia University Communications and Journalism Program. While in CEGEP and university he worked full-time for the now defunct Sunday Express Newspaper.
As a journalist, Mike contributes columns, features and travel advice to the following publications:
-The Suburban Newspaper is Quebec's largest English language weekly, with a circulation of 145,000 copies.
- The Montrealer is published once a month and focuses a lot of its attention on entertainment and travel.
-The Jewish Tribune is Canada's largest Jewish weekly newspaper, with a circulation of 63,000 copies.
-The Jewish Standard Magazine has editions in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, London, Hamilton, Windsor, Niagara Falls, Detroit and Cleveland. The Montreal and Toronto editions are published quarterly.
-The Montreal Jewish Magazine is published twice a year and has a circulation of 95,000 copies.
- Inspirations is a new publication focusing on the Greater Montreal area special needs community.
-Sandboxworld.com is a website that caters to children of all age and their parents. Traffic is presently averaging 950,000 hits a month and on the rise. Log on to www.sandboxworld.com/travel.
-Mike is also a regular contributor to Radio Shalom, Canada's first multilingual Jewish radio station.
