Sharon Cohen

Sharon Cohen is the founder and executive director of a pioneering girls empowerment organization, Figure Skating in Harlem (FSH), that has served hundreds of children in the community with a dynamic after-school skating and academics program since 1997. The first of its kind in the country, Figure Skating in Harlem has transformed young lives and helped girls blossom both on and off the ice. The program itself has gained national recognition for its excellence and is supported by an impressive roster of Olympic athletes, private foundations, corporations and individual donors. Above all, Sharon and FSH enjoy tremendous parent and community support, as dozens of our mothers organize three exciting events each season that draw in more than 2,500 community spectators.

Sharon grew up in the world of competitive figure skating. A USFSA double gold medalist who trained with Olympic coaches, she learned first-hand all of the lessons the sport has to teach about discipline, perseverance, responsibility and goal setting, and the tremendous and lasting effect of those lessons on self-esteem. It was in 1990, after graduating from Brown University and moving to New York City to work at CBS News, when Sharon had a chance encounter with a group of East Harlem girls who wanted to learn to figure skate. They say when the students are ready, the teacher appears. Sharon revisited the ice and found a way to channel her dual passions of skating and education to effectively help young girls grow in confidence, leadership and academic achievement.

By 1997, after completing her M.F.A in film writing and directing at NYU, Sharon was completely hooked on teaching the growing number of girls in East Harlem who wanted to participate in her pilot program on and off the ice. Sharon was continuously inspired as she saw first-hand students discover for themselves their own inner resources as well as develop new skills to succeed in life. Rather than pursue her film career, Sharon worked with a group of committed and enthusiastic parents to formalize the FSH program, taking the best lessons figure skating has to offer and integrating them into a holistic program that uses education and athletics to build self-confidence and to promote physical well-being and academic achievement.

Today, the FSH program includes classes in public speaking, nutrition, counseling, leadership, career and academic seminars in partnership with Columbia University, cultural field trips and much more. The results are amazing: More than 80% FSH girls annually maintain a “B” average or better in school; During the most recent year, 98% of our girls reported feeling safe and supported at FSH; 93% felt they were doing better in school; 97% felt they were more helpful to others as a result of the program; and 95% of girls said they feel better about themselves because of FSH. Nearly 100% of girls stick with FSH throughout the year, while 75% return each year, and most remain enrolled for 4 - 5 years. Clearly, FSH succeeds in creating strong, intelligent, and empowered young women.

Through the years, Sharon has been a guest speaker at the Professional Skaters Association/Ice Skating Institute national conference and completed a certificate program in non-profit management at Columbia University Business School. In 2006, Sharon was selected as the winner of Maybelline's Women Inspiring Confidence through Education, as announced in People magazine. That same year she appeared on the cover of Skating Magazine with her students. In 2007 she was WNBC-TV's notable New Yorker and NY1's New Yorker of the Week.