AFP ICON 2023 Scholarship Recipient: Greg Cohen 

Greg recently joined the fundraising profession in 2022 and was eager to grow and learn about the profession. Greg was selected to attend AFP ICON in New Orleans to network and grow in his career. The international conference gave Greg the skills and knowledge needed to better serve the philanthropy sector in Houston. Greg now works at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) overseeing the Big Climb Campaign. Scholarship support from the AFP Greater Houston Chapter allows emerging professionals to have the opportunities they need as they transition into our field. Learn more about Greg’s conference experience below. 

What was your experience at AFP ICON? 
My experience at AFP ICON was eye-opening. As someone new to the nonprofit industry, it was so motivating and inspiring to see such genuine, like-minded, and knowledgeable people - people that want to make a difference in the world and help others. While it was quite overwhelming with the variety of sessions and topics, I went in with an open mind and a desire to learn. Even though AFP had thousands of attendees, one of the highlights was definitely meeting and spending time with our small, local AFP Houston attendees. It was my first time meeting most of them and has led to additional conversations and more AFP involvement. 

What is one takeaway you had from the conference that impacts your work? 
Philanthropy is alive and well. There is an abundance of opportunity to do good, meaningful and impactful work. I think back to the thousands of people at the conference - all the different jobs and companies represented - and I think to myself that we are all doing impactful work in different ways -- I get to go back to my job at LLS and help raise money for cancer research and our patients.

How did the conference impact your career?
It's difficult to say exactly how attending the conference has impacted my career as that is yet to be determined. I'm still just a year and half into the industry. That said, I know I came away having learned so much about the industry and connected with lots of like-minded people. To my surprise, I recognized our LLS COO, Troy, during the conference’s opening session. He happened to be sitting with his executive team several rows behind me and the rest of our AFP Houston chapter. Before the program began, I approached him and re-introduced myself (I had met him briefly once before). I had no idea that LLS would have representation at the conference, let alone the executive team. I met him and his team afterwards to walk around the conference, and we took some fun photos. Troy then invited me out to drinks and dinner with him and his executive team. It was such a great experience to get to know them, and I was so grateful that he would think to ask me to join. Troy mentioned that he would be happy to stay connected after the conference. That experience with him led to a recent nearly hour-long phone conversation about ICON, LLS & philanthropy, and how things are going in my current role managing our Big Climb Houston event. I of course told him about my recent success leading our Big Climb event to our best year ever! Not only am I thankful for AFP/ICON and my experience with Troy and his team, but the fact that he is willing to take an interest in my personal & professional development/career growth is something that means a lot to me and for which I am grateful. He thought we should speak quarterly, so call number two is already on the books. I think that shows career impact already!