Elaine Cogan has a national reputation as a consultant in communications and public involvement strategies. She is the author of Successful Public Meetings, now in its second edition, and Now That You're on Board: How to Survive and Thrive as a Planning Commissioner. She also is co-author of You Can Talk to (Almost) Anyone about (Almost) Anything, a Speaking Guide for Business and Professional People. Her highly regarded insights on Public Participation were recently published in a handbook for planners. She also wrote the chapter on Public Meetings and Public Hearings for the widely used text, Planning and Urban Design Standards. She is a commentator, wrote a weekly column for The Oregonian newspaper for 15 years and wrote a regular column for the Planning Commissioners' Journal on public issues.

Selected Professional Experience

• Community visioning - National award-winning Complete Communities for Clackamas County, Oregon; Cities of Beaverton, Gresham, Hood River, Medford and Portland, Oregon; Anchorage, Alaska; Metro 2040 (Portland, Oregon area); Willamette Valley.

• Public involvement for transportation and growth management - Juneau, Alaska Department of Transportation; Newberg-Dundee Transportation Improvement Project, Oregon Department of Transportation; Lloyd District Strategic Plan and NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Strategic Plan, Multnomah County and Bureau of Transportation, Portland, Oregon; Washington Square Regional Center, Tigard, Oregon.

• Public involvement for public works - Willamette River Basin Reservoir Study, Oregon Water Resources Department; Joint Water Commission, Washington County, Oregon; Sellwood Bridge Replacement/Renewal Project; Mt. Tabor Park Master Plan; Wastewater Treatment Plant, Portland, Oregon.

• Training in public involvement and communication techniques - Annual national conferences of the American Planning Association and American Hospital Association; Cities of Anchorage, Alaska; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Riverside, California; Gainesville, Florida; Vancouver, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Intel; Meier & Frank Co.; URS Consultants; SERA Architects and many other companies, communities and non-profit organizations.

• Strategic planning - Oregon Symphony; Water Environment Services, Clackamas County, Oregon; Metropolitan Exposition Recreation Commission, Portland, Oregon; Clackamas County Libraries, Oregon; Willamette Criminal Justice Council, Corvallis, Oregon; Oregon Community Foundation; United Way of Benton County, Oregon.

Honors/Community Service

• Top 50 Innovative Government Programs in America - Ash Institute at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

• Achievement Award - National Association of Counties.

• National Public Education Award - American Planning Association.

• Award of Excellence - International Association of Public Participation (IAP2).

• Distinguished Service to Oregon - League of Women Voters.

• Distinguished Award - Society for Technical Communication, Puget Sound Chapter.

• Who's Who of Professional and Business Women.

• Chair - Portland Development Commission.

• Chair of the Board - Providence Medical Center.

• President - League of Women Voters of Portland.

• Co-Chair - Portland Waterfront Plan Review Committee.

• Vice Chair - Oregon State Fair Commission.

In the News

January 1, 2004
"Cogan Owens Cogan:  It's all in the planning"
Daily Journal of Commerce

June 15, 2004
"Art of the Deal"
Portland Tribune

Contact Information

Elaine Cogan, Principal
Cogan Owens Cogan, LLC
813 SW Alder Street, Suite 320
Portland, OR 97205-3111
Phone: 503-225-0192  x 205
Fax: 503-225-0224
E-mail: elaine.cogan@coganowens.com