Jennifer Cohen
Named the University of Washington’s 15th Director of Athletics on May 24, 2016, Jennifer Cohen has been with the UW for 21 years, primarily overseeing the athletic department’s fundraising efforts.
In three years under her watch, Cohen has led Husky Athletics to unprecedented success in the classroom, in competition and in the community.
Additionally, Cohen secured a 10-year, $119 million apparel partnership with adidas that launched July 1, 2019.
In Cohen’s three-year span, the Huskies have won a total of 11 Pac-12 championships. In their first season at the helm of their program, Mike Hopkins, Elise Ray-Statz and Yasmin Farooq all took home Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors and Hopkins repeated in 2018-19.
A native of Tacoma, she joined the athletic department staff in 1998 as an assistant director of development before moving to the university’s central development office to focus on fundraising efforts on behalf of the office of undergraduate education. She also spent time with the UW’s regional gifts program before returning to athletics to oversee the department’s major gifts program.
“I am humbled, honored, and extremely thankful for this opportunity,” said Cohen. “The University of Washington has been part of my life for nearly two decades, and I believe our department is poised to accomplish great things. Together, we will work to positively impact our student-athletes, inspire a championship culture, and build and unite our community. I believe there is no better place to achieve these things than at Washington.”
A 1991 graduate of San Diego State University, Cohen earned her master’s degree in physical education with an emphasis in sports administration, from Pacific Lutheran University in 1994. Her professional experience includes a variety of roles in intercollegiate athletics administration at Pacific Lutheran, the University of Puget Sound and Texas Tech University. Cohen has two sons, Tyson (18) and Dylan (15).
