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For over a decade, Lois Cohen made a significant impact facilitating community outreach in the metro area. Whether a project involved a bridge, a 100-year-old sewage pipe or a bike path, her Portland-based company, Lois D. Cohen Associates (LCA), served as a link between civic agencies and public citizens.

鈥淭he work that we do would look very different if it hadn’t been for Lois,鈥� said Cheryl Kuck, community outreach official for the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services. 鈥淚t would’ve been good work, but it would’ve looked different.鈥�

Cohen died recently, and then LCA closed its doors permanently. The firm originated from her vision of how a third party could help agencies gain community trust in projects. LCA then helped guide community engagement and communication for some of the most important and complex projects in the region.

When a project’s trajectory is communicated effectively to a community, its members are more likely to accept it 鈥� even if there are negative implications in the short term, said Kristen Bishop, LCA’s executive director before the firm shut down.

鈥淟ois was a force,鈥� Bishop said. 鈥淪he had a larger-than-life personality 鈥� the kind that really endeared her to a lot of people. She would tell the truth, and people trusted that.

鈥淪he was a real advocate for public processes and just an amazing spokesperson for the community in general.鈥�

Cohen’s favorite project, Bishop recalled, was the Sellwood Bridge replacement. LCA enlisted contractors to speak about their careers and the project with several hundred local high school students. Then students were able to design and install the iron benches that now sit on the bridge.

LCA worked with city and state agencies, including the Oregon Department of Transportation. The firm’s relationship with BES extended more than 10 years. Cohen and Kuck worked together closely for more than eight years; they developed a community outreach plan for BES’ Large-Scale Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Program that’s still used as a model.

鈥淭here’s something that happened with Lois that doesn’t happen with everybody,鈥� Kuck said. 鈥溾�� We just connected right away. We knew immediately that we were going to do really good work together 鈥� we knew immediately.鈥�

While BES was working on the Sellwood-Moreland sewer repair project, the Sellwood Bridge replacement project also was under way. Cohen saw an opportunity to engage people in regard to the sewer system, the bridge and the river, Kuck said.

鈥淪he talked to kids about replacing the bridge, and then we talked about replacing a 100-year-old sewage pipe,鈥� Kuck added. 鈥淚t was a really cool way to use community and place to do community outreach.鈥�

About two years ago, Cohen became ill. Bishop transitioned from project manager to executive director as Cohen stepped back into an advisory role.

鈥淪he was very involved in the company all the way up until her death,鈥� Bishop said. 鈥淪he was amazing, and even through her illness she was emotionally invested in the company doing well.鈥�

Before LCA closed, it had four employees.

鈥淚 think that her legacy is that the work lives,鈥� Kuck said. 鈥淲e’re going to continue to enhance it and improve it.鈥�