National Convening Program Books 2014 YEO National Convening Program Book | Page 42

YOUNG ELECTED OFFICIALS

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Enbar Cohen
City Commissioner
Aventura, Florida
Enbar Cohen serves as City Commissioner for the city of Aventura,
Florida. Cohen graduated cum laude with a BS in political science from
Barry University. Her strongest passion is keeping the lives of youth safe
and enriched. After the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, she was compelled to
take action and flew to the Dominican Republic with other relief workers to
assess the needs of the orphanages and work directly to supply, food and resources to those in
need. Commissioner Cohen personally ran her campaign for Aventura City Commissioner. In the
contested race, she was elected with 62% of the vote for a four-year term. Cohen is the youngest
elected official in Miami-Dade County and the youngest openly lesbian elected official in the
United States. She is currently at FIU College of Law and will graduate in 2016. @EnbarCohen

Shane Cohn
Alderman
St Louis, Missouri
Shane Cohn has served as the Alderman of the 25th Ward of the city of
St. Louis, Missouri since the spring of 2009. Cohn is the first openly gay
elected official in the city’s government and the second youngest member
of the Board of Aldermen. Prior to his election, Cohn worked as a human
resources manager for Citi, where he organized an LGBT organization for Citi
employees, known as Citi Pride. He serves on the board of the LGBT Community Center, the
National Conference of Community and Justice of Metro St. Louis, the St. Louis Crisis Nursery’s
Young Professional Board, the Mayor’s Youth Violence Prevention Task Force, and the advisory
board of Gateway 180 Homelessness Reversed Coalition. Alderman Cohn has started various
initiatives in his ward that are being replicated and studied throughout the region, including
a neighborhood ownership safety model, a juvenile intervention program, and a youth social
venture entrepreneurship program. @shanecohn

Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez
Governing Board Member
Azusa, California
Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez currently serves as president of the board of
education of the Azusa Unified School District. First elected at the age
of 26, she is the youngest person to ever hold that position. Her primary
focus is to ensure that the children of Azusa schools receive and successfully
complete a rigorous, high-quality, and well-rounded education that prepares all
students for post-secondary education. She is currently president of the California Latino School
Boards Association and serves on the