Our Team

Board of Directors

Like many non-for-profit organizations, CohoUS is directed by a group of volunteers called a Board of Directors.  In addition to meeting monthly to review the direction of the organization and approve budgets and major initiatives, board members participate in committees to help move those initiatives forward.

Laurie Frank
President
“Cohousing is where individuals can enter into a reciprocal relationship with others to share both what they have and who they are.”
Jim Mendell
Vice President
“Cohousing is the Best of both worlds: live in an eco-friendly community that feels like family and still maintain your privacy.”
Henning Mortensen
Treasurer
“Cohousing is a great social experiment to prove that it is possible to live together in a community and to show that life thus lived benefits the individual, the community, its neighbors and the planet. We benefit from iteration and evaluation as we learn better ways to live.”
Megan Shea
Secretary
“Cohousing is the best way I know to build an interconnected, collaborative life. It provides a built-in community to share life's big and small moments, while also enjoying the delight of a front door that you can close when it's time for privacy.”
Nazin Bagherynejad
“As an architect, I believe in cohousing because it merges thoughtful design with community-centered living, creating sustainable, inclusive spaces that foster connection, support, and shared purpose while addressing critical challenges like affordability and aging in place.”
Heidi Berggren
Lew Bowers
“Cohousing is a lifestyle emphasizing cooperation and community whereby an intentional neighborhood or community is created with each household having their own home and sharing common space and activities with the community.”
Liz Ryan Cole
“Cohousing is a small village living for people who value both connection and independence.”
Deb Goldberg
“Cohousing neighbors share joys, sorrows, labor and laughs as they care for the land and each other.”
Danny Milman
“No one should eat alone.”
Julia Moran Morton
Alan O’Hashi
“Living in a cohousing community is a hedge against loneliness, which is as deadly as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”
Shelly Parks
“Cohousing gives us a place for deeper and more authentic relationships. With easy everyday interactions and commitment to our neighbors, our connections are nurtured and trust is built.”
Sarah Wells
“I believe cohousing creates a container that allows for community and connection that is desperately needed in our culture, a place where we can practice democracy, accountability and mutual aid; creating a microcosm of the healthier world we all want to see.”
Dyan Wiley

Advisory Council

Several of our larger donors expressed interest in further supporting the cohousing movement and the association through special projects and other initiatives. Together they make up the advisory council which meets quarterly. These cohousing professionals provide a valuable lens on the progress of the movement and the points where they can collaborate with the association for particularly potent impact.