Shimon Cohen

Shimon Cohen is a social work educator, podcaster, and change agent. He is passionate about racial justice and liberatory social work. Shimon is the host and producer of the nationally recognized podcast Doin’ The Work: Frontline Stories of Social Change, which highlights people working for social change through interviews with social workers and those in related fields, educators, and activists about their work and personal stories of how they got into this work.

Shimon began his social work career as a street outreach worker for a drop-in center for homeless youth. He later co-founded and served as director of Nuestro Lugar/Our Place Teen Center for youth in Eugene, Oregon, now a program of Youth ERA. Shimon has over 15 years of experience working in community-based agencies, public schools, and hospital-based psychiatric outpatient clinics in Eugene, Oregon; Bronx, New York; the Dominican Republic; and Miami, Florida. Shimon received his Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work.

Shimon loves teaching. He sees it as an honor and privilege to have the opportunity to engage with students on their journey of growth, and he grows with them. His teaching, which is part of his social work practice, is rooted in a commitment to the radical transformation of society, deeply rooted in social justice. At the core of Shimon’s teaching is a collaborative, student-centered, anti-racist/anti-oppressive approach with an emphasis on real-world application so that his students become culturally responsive, anti-racist/anti-oppressive social workers. A major emphasis for Shimon is that his students feel that he supports them in who they are, and they see that he is deeply invested in their learning, success, and lives.

Shimon currently lives in Miami, Florida with his wife, two daughters, and dog Luna. He enjoys family time, eating, drinking coffee, listening to music, watching movies, exercising, hiking and walking outdoors, and relaxing at the beach.