Jeremy C. Kohomban, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Dr. Jeremy Christopher Kohomban is the President and CEO of The Children’s Village and the President of Harlem Dowling. The child welfare organizations collectively serve over 17,000 children and families each year with community-based programs, family support services, and residential care.
Dr. Kohomban is a leading national advocate for reforms to the child welfare system that prioritize the needs of families and preventive services over the use of residential care. He was a primary contributor to the federal Family First Prevention Services Act, which created the greatest advances to the child welfare field in over four decades. And, under Dr. Kohomban’s leadership, The Children’s Village, the nation’s oldest—and once the largest—children’s residential treatment center, has been transformed into a national model for community-embedded family support.
In testament to Dr. Kohomban’s work, the US Department of Health and Human Services called Children’s Village “one of the exemplary primary prevention efforts operating in urban and rural jurisdictions across the country.” He was invited to partner with the Federal Children’s Bureau to showcase Children’s Village work and approach in support of expanding community-based, family-focused prevention programs. During his tenure, the Children’s Village was recognized with the Gold Prize from the New York Community Trust-New York Magazine’s Nonprofit Excellence Awards, the US Congressional Coalition Angels in Adoption award, the Child Welfare League of America Exemplary Innovative Leadership Award, and the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, Samuel Gerson Nordlinger Leadership Award.
Dr. Kohomban is outspoken in his recognition of the social justice antecedents that drive the foster care and juvenile justice systems, and in the belief that every child, regardless of age, deserves a family.
Dr. Kohomban is chair of the Human Services Council of New York, the national co-chair of the Children Need Amazing Parents (CHAMPS) campaign, and a Trustee of Save the Children. He was recently appointed by the mayor of New York City to be a member of the Commission on Community Reinvestment and the Closure of Riker’s Island.
He is a graduate of Emporia State University, Kansas, holds a Masters from Long Island University, New York, a PhD from the School for Business and Leadership at Regent University, Virginia, and a LittD (Honorary Doctor of Letters) from Mercy College, New York.
For recent articles and commentary by Dr. Kohomban, click here or select links below.
The Brookings Institution – The Foster Care System Was Unprepared for the Last Drug Epidemic
Stanford Social Innovation Review – The Systematic Starvation of Those Who Do Good
Huffington Post – Survival Is Not Enough: Help Children Thrive, Not Just Survive
Chronicle of Philanthropy – Keeping Quiet About Wrongdoing at Nonprofits Only Makes Matters Worse
City and State – The Harsh Truths About Child Welfare in New York
CNN Video – Are My Parents OK?
NYNP Media – What does a Close to Home facility look like from the inside?