On this week’s Meet the Team edition of From the Lobby, host Joanna Pasceri travels to Rochester to sit down with Marc Cohen, Vice President of Government Affairs at O’Donnell & Associates. Cohen’s career runs through Congress, the New York State Capitol, and the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, where he advocated on behalf of more than 1,300 businesses across the Finger Lakes region. In a wide-ranging conversation, Cohen reflects on the public-service role models who shaped him, what business owners across New York are worried about right now — from over-regulation to slow-moving grant reimbursements to affordability — and why he credits Governor Kathy Hochul for standing firm against tax hikes. He also explains how O’Donnell & Associates approaches its work as a bridge between government and the private sector, and shares the joy of watching his two-year-old son discover the world.
Joanna Pasceri
Welcome back to From the Lobby with Jack O’Donnell and another episode of Meet the Team. This is where we introduce you to the people behind O’Donnell and Associates, the ones building relationships, solving problems, and helping clients get results across New York. Today we’re heading to Rochester to talk to Marc Cohen, Vice President of Government Affairs at O’Donnell and Associates. Marc has worked in Congress, inside state government, and at the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, where he advocated on behalf of more than 1,300 businesses across the Finger Lakes region. He’s also an EMT, a board member, a dad, and someone deeply connected to his community. Let’s bring him in. Marc, welcome to the lobby.
Marc Cohen
Thanks for having me.
Joanna Pasceri
You grew up in Amherst. You went to SUNY Albany and got involved in student leadership early, eventually representing more than 500,000 SUNY students statewide. So when did you realize that public service was the path for you?
Marc Cohen
My mother is an attorney and worked for the Small Business Administration. She was detailed to FEMA doing disaster relief for major federal disaster declarations. And my dad is a civil rights lawyer in Buffalo. Both of them, in their own ways, contributed to public service. And I saw them from a very early age doing that. It was instilled in me to do what I could do to make my community a better place. So it really probably started with great role models and then evolved from there.
Joanna Pasceri
You’ve worked for then-Congresswoman Kathy Hochul. You’ve worked in the Lieutenant Governor’s office, you’ve testified in Albany. How did all those experiences teach you about how government works?
Marc Cohen
When I interned for then-Congresswoman Hochul, worked on her campaign, it was a losing campaign, insofar as the district was the reddest district in New York State. And she won not by a little bit, but by a lot. She won because, watching her campaign, she connected with people on a really deep personal level. Watching her working on behalf of people — a county clerk running for Congress — was incredible. Then she hired me as an intern in her office and didn’t have a ton of staff at that time. So she let me do some pretty remarkable things, or at least I thought they were remarkable, with constituent service, with legislation. That really sparked and expanded my deep interest in government and politics. And then working in Bob Duffy’s office when he was Lieutenant Governor and then again for Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, before joining the SUNY Board of Trustees, all gave me that insight into politics and policy and governing. I was just really lucky to come up under incredible public servants who believed in the work that they were doing and allowed me to play a part in it.
Joanna Pasceri
Now, you aren’t a lawyer, even though your parents are. Did you ever feel the pressure, seeing how you grew up, to go be a lawyer?
Marc Cohen
I have the most supportive parents in the world. Whatever it is that I want to do with my life, they support 100%. I think that there was a feeling that having a law degree under my belt would be a benefit. I went to school for two years for my MPA, and there was a thought of one more year could result in a law degree. I wouldn’t say a pressure as much as maybe a desire on their part. I definitely considered it. I studied political science and philosophy as an undergrad, worked in different offices and interned in different offices and engaged in government, state and federal. I just got bit by the policy bug. I got bit by the public administration bug. So I went to Rockefeller for my MPA, which I don’t regret for a second. My brother’s an attorney also. He practices in New York City. He’s at an incredible law firm, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and is doing amazing things in his own right. I know that they support what I’m doing now, and I think it was the right move for me. No regrets whatsoever.
Joanna Pasceri
After an early government career, you moved on to work at the Greater Rochester Chamber, where you helped businesses navigate everything from health regulations to transportation to economic development projects. What did working so closely with business owners teach you, and what are they most worried about right now?
Marc Cohen
It gave me an insight into how policy and politics — how policy and regulations — impact businesses of all sizes on the ground. I’m a true believer in the good that government can do. I’m a true believer in the good that elected officials can do. I’ve seen so many elected officials on both sides of the aisle, across the ideological spectrum, do really amazing things. The problem is a lot of these folks put forth policies without necessarily having the whole picture. They’ll get a constituent question or a business person’s question, or a concern will come into their office one way or another, and they’ll act on it. And that’s great. It’s incredible to have responsive elected officials and policymakers and staff members. The problem comes when the solutions to alleged problems are not fully fleshed out. So my role now with O’Donnell and Associates and my role with the Chamber was to make sure that the problems or the opportunities were conveyed to our elected officials and policymakers in a way that permitted a solution that actually resolved the problem — instead of only answering part of a problem or, worse, making it worse. The Chamber opened up my eyes to the on-the-ground, real impact that policy and regulations have, and gave me really important tools to address those problems and help translate the issues being faced by business owners or nonprofit leaders to the decision makers in a way that resulted in a positive outcome.
Joanna Pasceri
And the second part of that question — what are businesses most worried about right now?
Marc Cohen
Over-regulation. Businesses are concerned that government operates with a sledgehammer versus a scalpel. You’ve got industries in which bad actors exist, and instead of addressing the bad actors, they address the industry as a whole. That’s not great. A lot of businesses, particularly nonprofits, are concerned with the amount of time that it takes for grants to be issued. They have an award letter from an agency which they then take to get financing. They’re paying interest on that financing. So if it takes years to get the costs reimbursed, that’s adding to the bottom line of the project. Affordability is a hot topic that we’re hearing about, and government should be and is addressing that, but making sure that it’s not being addressed on the shoulders of the business community. I give the governor a lot of credit right now for standing firmly against increasing taxes, because all that’ll do is drive people away, it’ll drive people out. We’re already seeing it. You’ve got folks who argue that businesses will never leave New York State because it’s too expensive. Well, a lot of those businesses are calling that bluff and are acknowledging, yes, it’s expensive, yes, it’s cumbersome, yes, it’s a regulatory nightmare — we don’t care. We have to leave New York because it’s just too expensive to do business here. That’s not good. Again, I give the governor credit. I think our legislative leaders in the Assembly and the Senate are recognizing that. And we, as a firm in our role, doing the best that we can to amplify those concerns and show that there are other solutions to the problems that exist.
Joanna Pasceri
You did touch on it, but now as Vice President of Government Affairs at O’Donnell, you’re helping lead strategy for clients across the state. How does that background and your previous work, from SUNY to Congress to Rochester, shape the way you approach your work today?
Marc Cohen
It allows me to look at situations from varying perspectives. Government is not approaching things in a way to make life miserable for a nonprofit or for a business. And businesses and nonprofits aren’t existing to create headaches for government. Because of some of my experiences and the opportunities I was afforded by some really incredible public servants, I can go into meetings with former colleagues of mine and say, hey, listen, you and I worked on this policy together. You and I worked in this space together. I know that this isn’t the intent. I can share with you that the real life impact of this regulation or this statute or this proposal is X, and that’s going to result in adverse impact — or this is a really, really good idea, a few things have been left out to make it an even better idea, and client X is a leader in this space, and we can help with it. I’ll give you one example. We’ve got a client, Cook Properties, and they’re the largest developer, owner, operator of manufactured homes in the state. The governor and the legislature have invested significantly in manufactured housing as a solution to the housing crisis that we’re facing. We’ve had the opportunity, because elected officials have been responsive to us and because we’ve got a wonderful client who’s objectively the leader in New York State in this space, to help shape policy in a more positive way. Having worked on the government side, I have seen the best way to convey a message that’ll be received in a way that helps us to achieve our outcome. And being on the client service side of things, I’ve been able to advise our clients on how to address problems and how to get the outcome that they’re seeking. Holding a press conference, or pounding your fist on a table, or posting on social media might make you feel better for five minutes. But the elected official or the office or the agency about whom they’re pounding their fist won’t soon forget that they aired their grievances in such a way. So hopefully what our role is and has been is to bridge that gap between government and the private sector, between government and nonprofits, and help the government partners to achieve the outcomes they’re seeking to achieve, while maximizing the utility of the impact on the industry that they’re trying to address or on the problem that they’re trying to address. Because of those experiences, I think we’ve been really successful in that.
Joanna Pasceri
I can confirm you are doing great work for our clients, Marc. At the end of the day, what’s the most rewarding part of it?
Marc Cohen
Two things. When we get a win, it’s incredibly exciting to be able to go back to the client and let them know that they’ve put their trust in us and we’ve achieved, and then ask them for the next task and have it be taken seriously by them — that we will address their problem. We’ve heard them, we’ve listened to them, we’ve digested it, we’ve strategized around it, we’ve implemented the strategy and then we’ve achieved an outcome. That is incredible. The other thing, Joanna, which is really satisfying in a different kind of way, is that on the occasions that we don’t achieve the objective, that we don’t achieve the outcome — because we’ve put together the strategy and we’re leading the way, we are the tip of that spear — we have the benefit of that feedback loop where we can go and say, okay, we did X, Y and Z really, really well, but this one portion we could have improved. And we know we could have improved it because we were leading the effort. The partner who was responsible for achieving that part maybe fell short in some way. We know that now, and we can go back and we’ve seen it where we take a swing and maybe don’t hit that home run, but when the next pitch comes, we’re ready for it and we know what’s going to happen and we knock it out of the park. So those two things — both the wins that we’ve achieved and the setbacks that will happen from time to time, but knowing that we can address those setbacks because we’ve got that full feedback loop — both things are really very satisfying.
Joanna Pasceri
Marc, you’re so connected to your community. You serve on local boards, you volunteer as an EMT, you’re involved with the United Way. It doesn’t seem that you would have much free time, but when you do, what do you like doing?
Marc Cohen
My wife and I have a two-year-old little boy, and he is a gift that I can’t explain. Spending time with him and watching him figure out the way the world works and engaging in the most mundane tasks that otherwise would be thoughtless — but now with him are incredible. Like pushing a button on an elevator or filling up a cup with milk and watching him figure out how to do these things, and the joy that he takes out of going down the escalator for the first time. Just really, really wonderful.
Joanna Pasceri
They’re very special indeed. He’s an absolute doll. Well, Marc, this has been such a great talk. Thanks so much for your time and joining us from the lobby.
Marc Cohen
Thanks for all you do, Joanna.
Joanna Pasceri
From student advocate to Capitol Hill to Rochester community leader, Marc brings energy, experience and heart to everything he does. Marc, thanks for joining us. And thanks to all of you for listening to Meet the Team. We’ll see you next time right here from the lobby with Jack O’Donnell.
