Martha Cohen

Cohen was born in 1920 in Calgary, Alberta to parents Rebecca and Peter Block.[4]

She received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta in 1940, and a Master Diploma of Social Work from the University of Toronto in 1945.[5] Cohen has four children.[6] In 1982, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary[2] and in 1995 received a Honorary Bachelor of Applied Communications from Mount Royal College.

Cohen died on February 26, 2015.[7][8] Her 30-piece art collection made headlines when it was auctioned off.[9]

• Chairwoman of the Board for the Calgary Centre for the Performing Arts during creation of the Centre.
• Chairwoman of the Mount Royal College Board of Governors during the construction of a new campus, becoming the first woman to head a higher educational institution in Alberta.
• Founder/Past Executive Director of the Jewish Family Service in Calgary.[10][11]
• President of the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada[7][12]
• Councillor, Alberta Order of Excellence (1980-1985) [13]

The Harry & Martha Cohen Foundation is a private family foundation which provides grants primarily to Calgary-based charities.[14] She founded it with her husband Harry B. Cohen (1912–1990), who was also a philanthropist.

Cohen and five other women primarily were the ones to fundraise $45 million to build the Calgary Centre for the Performing Arts.[6]

In 1983, Cohen's husband Harry donated $1 million to have a theatre named at the Calgary Centre for the Performing Arts in honor of Martha Cohen's birthday.[15]

After her death on February 26, 2015, the Dr. Martha Cohen School was named in her honour.[10][16] On May 4, 2015, the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) announced that it would name a new Middle School (located in New Brighton/Copperfield) after Martha Cohen and described her as one of the city's foremost humanitarians and philanthropists.[16] In April, 2017, the CBE formally opened the Dr. Martha Cohen School at 1750 New Brighton Drive S.E. It will provide educational programming for approximately 900 students (Grades 5-9).[17]

• Honorary doctorate, University of Calgary (1982)[2][3][18]
• Honorary Bachelor of Applied Communications, Mount Royal College (1995)

• Prime Minister Medal, State of Israel Bonds (1970)[10]
• Order of Canada (1975)[19]
• Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977)
• Calgary Citizen of the Year (1979)[6]
• Boy Scouts of Canada Medal (1984)
• Variety Club International Lifeliner Medal (1984)
• City of Calgary, Centennial Award of Merit (1985)
• Scopus Award, Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1994)[20]
• Distinguished Citizen Award, Mount Royal College (1995)
• Angel Award, International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA), New York (1995)[21]
• Great Minds Banner, 175th Anniversary, University of Toronto (2002)[22]
• Alberta Centennial Medal (2005)[23]
• Distinguished Alumni Award, Calgary Board of Education (2006) [24]
• Best of Alberta Award, Calgary Herald (2008)
• Global News Woman of Vision (2009)
• Western Legacy Award, 100 Outstanding Albertans, Calgary Stampede (2012)[25]

• Lumley, Elizabeth (2003). Canadian Who's Who, 2003. ISBN 9780802088659.
• "The Best of Alberta, Calgary Herald, 2008".
• "Global Woman of Vision, Global News, 2009".
• "Alberta 150: The Wrestlers, The Team Builder, and The Professor, Calgary Herald, 2017".