Greetings!
Hello, my name is Allison Cohen – “Al” for short – and I have been named the interim executive director of Ohioans to Stop Executions. I want to thank my predecessor, Hannah Kubbins, for her visionary leadership, dynamic approach to this work, and most of all, her kindness and friendship. I hope all of you join me in wishing her the very best in her journey.
I know many of you because I’ve been doing this work for a long time. In fact, I was OTSE’s first director of communications back in 2012. Fate brought me back to OTSE in early 2021, and I’ve been happily consulting as director of communications until today.
A lot of people ask me, “Why do you care so much about ending the death penalty?” Honestly, I don’t have a good story. Since I was old enough to understand what the death penalty is, I’ve been horrified that our government has the power to take someone’s life. In high school, I participated in a pro-life speech contest, and I was the only one to write about the death penalty. Everyone else wrote about abortion. I remember my teachers asking me whether or not I understood the assignment. I wish I could ask them now, “Did you?”
There is more to say, but for now, I want to tell you that my door is open. Please email me or call me, 513-787-9399. I want to hear from you. Together, as part of the #NoDeathPenaltyOH campaign, we can make this happen, and I’m excited to get to work.
Love,
Al
