Professor Cohen earned a B.A. summa cum laude from Rutgers College and a J.D. from Columbia, where she was managing editor of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review. She is the former director of training for the New York City Legal Aid Society's Juvenile Rights Division, where she oversaw both the attorney training program and public policy initiatives relating to juvenile justice and child welfare. She also has served as a senior policy analyst for the Violence Institute of New Jersey; deputy court monitor in Morales Feliciano v. Hernandez Colon, a prisoners' rights class action in the U.S. District Court in San Juan, Puerto Rico; adjunct professor at New York Law School; and staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society. Professor Cohen co-directs the Northeast Regional Juvenile Defender Center, an affiliate of the National Juvenile Defender Center, which is dedicated to improving the quality of representation accorded children in juvenile court. Her scholarly interests include juvenile justice, child welfare, and the legal representation of children and adolescents.