Phillip S. (Phil) Cogan

Vice President, Public Affairs
Export-Import Bank of the United States

Phil Cogan is vice president, public affairs for the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), the official export credit agency of the United States, where he has overseen the Bank’s media relations, speechwriting and web site content. He is a former print and broadcast news journalist who has been active in federal, state and local government public affairs and communications activities for over three decades.

Immediately prior to joining the Export-Import Bank Cogan was executive vice president of Bernstein Crisis Management, LLC, in Phoenix, Arizona, which at the time was an ancillary business of Quarles & Brady, LLP a leading law firm based in Milwaukee, Wisc.

He was formerly the deputy director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Office of Emergency Information and Public Affairs, and director of External Relations for the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazards Investigation Board, both in Washington, D.C.

Among his notable disaster assignments for FEMA were managing the emergency information responses to numerous earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. In September 2001 Cogan helped support media relations activities at "Ground Zero" following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, and in 2005 he volunteered to assist FEMA with the response to Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana.

Cogan was a major contributor to the federal government's Joint Information System procedures for emergency public information. He is an avid advocate and user of both high- and low-tech solutions for crisis communications.

Prior to his entry into federal civilian service, Cogan worked for 10 years in radio, television and print media news positions, beginning as a reporter and ending as radio senior news editor, radio news director, and TV assignment editor in Los Angeles, San Diego, Monterey, Calif., and Seattle.

In addition to his journalism and natural disaster experience, Cogan has been a participant in numerous emergency simulations, both as a participant and an evaluator. He has been a frequent speaker before audiences throughout the U.S. and Canada, and has taught journalism and broadcast courses at the community college and university levels.

Cogan has a B.A. in Speech and Journalism from UCLA and an M.A. in Communications (with an emphasis on communications law) from the University of Washington in Seattle. Formerly a Navy public affairs officer, he retired from the Navy Reserve as a Commander.

Last Updated: April 14, 2010