Deb Cohen, PhD

Deb Cohen, PhD, is a Distinguished Principal Research Fellow in the Human Capital practice at The Conference Board and President of her own consultancy, Deb Cohen, LLC. Deb is an association executive and management consultant with more than 25 years of experience advising, speaking, and guiding nonprofit, academic, and for-profit entities. Her latest book, Developing Proficiency in HR: 7 Self-directed Activities for HR Professionals, focuses on self-development.  As a former SVP with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Cohen was responsible for a 50-person division was responsible for knowledge services, original research, and the development of a profession-wide competency model.  Under her direction, research services were transformed into a significant revenue stream, a curriculum guide for the HR profession was established, and a competency model that forms the basis for a world-wide certification credential was created.    

A subject matter expert in HR, management, and organizational behavior, Deb’s expertise lies in creating and executing new initiatives that support and develop organization strategy.  She is a skillful facilitator, speaker, trainer, and researcher.  She has been called upon as an expert witness in employment cases.  Dr. Cohen received both her PhD in Management and Human Resources and her master’s degree in Labor and Human Resources from The Ohio State University.  She is a certified HR professional with the designation SHRM-SCP.

Deb is an Adjunct Professor at George Washington University and teaches MBA courses in strategic HR.  Her next book, Developing Management Proficiency, will be out in early 2020.

Deb is co-author of the (2015) book Defining HR Success: 9 Critical Competencies for HR Professionals and a co-editor for a (2013) book entitled Developing and Enhancing Teamwork in Organizations: Evidence-based Best Practices and Guidelines.  Prior to joining SHRM, Dr. Cohen spent 15 years as an academician teaching HRM at George Washington and George Mason Universities.  Dr. Cohen has published over 50 articles and book chapters and has been published in such journals as Academy of Management Journal, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Management, and the Journal of Business Ethics.