Mary Cohn

Mary Cohn has served as the Library Director for the Greater Cleveland area since 2005, overseeing daily operations including budgeting, staffing, building maintenance, and public services. She considers Cleveland a wonderful community to serve and credits her dedicated team for making the library a rewarding place to work.

Mary’s life has been shaped by global experiences as a military brat and later as a proud member of the U.S. Air Force. She served during Operation Just Cause, Operation Desert Shield, and Operation Desert Storm with the 6993rd Electronic Security Squadron under the Military Intelligence Command, holding a high-level security clearance. Her exceptional performance earned her early promotion as a “Below the Zone” Airman.

Mary also competed in command-wide performance competitions—including Comfy-O and the Prism Olympics—where she earned third place two years in a row against Air Force personnel worldwide.

After completing her military service, Mary returned home to Cleveland and pursued a career in emergency medicine. She earned an associate degree in emergency medical technology and spent 20 years serving the Houston area as a paramedic. In 1995, she was invited to fill in for a library staff member on extended medical leave—and she has been part of the library ever since.

Mary holds a bachelor’s degree in management and a master’s degree in library science from Texas Woman’s University.