Kathi Cozzone

Commissioner Kathi Cozzone was sworn in as Chester County Commissioner on January 6, 2008 and was re-elected to office on November 8, 2011 and November 3rd, 2015. She has served as Vice Chair of the Board since 2011. Commissioner Cozzone has identified workforce development as one of her top priorities, and in 2012 she joined the Chester County Workforce Investment Board, which allows her to help set programs and policies that positively affect people struggling with unemployment and underemployment. In 2012, she also became a member of the Chester County Conservation District Board. She is an ex-officio member of the Chester County Economic Development Council and serves on the Board of Chester County Industrial Development Authority. As a mother, Commissioner Cozzone has a strong interest in advocating for our youth, and she sits on the Advisory Board of the Child Advocacy Center of Chester County. She serves on the Board of Advisors for Communities That Care of Greater Downingtown and the Board of Directors of the Downingtown Community Educational Foundation, while also volunteering with other “Band Parents” to support her son at Downingtown East High School. Kathi also serves on the board of the Uwchlan Ambulance Corps., where her son is a member of the Explorers, and the United Way of Chester County. In November of 2010, Commissioner Kathi Cozzone graduated from the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania’s Academy for Excellence in County Government. Graduates of the Academy must complete extensive coursework which spans diverse topics pertaining to the functions, responsibilities and intricacies of running county government. She later completed the Advanced Academy for Excellence, and looks forward to participating in the Center for Leadership Excellence program this year. Commissioner Cozzone was invited in 2011 to join the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania’s (CCAP) Resolutions Committee, which she eventually chaired in 2015 and 2016. The Committee is responsible for receiving proposed resolutions from members and CCAP committees, comparing them for consistency with the CCAP mission, and preparing them for consideration by the delegates to the Annual Conference; eventually yielding the CCAP policy statement. Currently, she serves on several CCAP Committees: the Courts and Corrections Committee, the Academy Committee and the Personnel Committee. In 2013 and 2014 Kathi was elected District Five Representative to the Board of CCAP. In 2016, Kathi was elected Second Vice President of CCAP. She is excited to have a role in setting legislative, policy and program priorities for the State's County Commissioners Association. As a member of CCAP’s Behavioral Health Task Force, and working with County leaders from across the United States through NACo, the National Association of Counties, Kathi is working to implement strategies to reduce the population of mentally ill inmates in Chester County Prison by finding ways to divert non-violent offenders from incarceration toward more rehabilitative outcomes – both improving the lives of these individuals and their families, and saving taxpayer dollars. Commissioner Cozzone serves on two statewide advisory commissions. She was appointed by the Governor to the State Geospatial Coordinating Board in 2016, to help develop State policy for sharing data collected by Counties on land use and topographical features. In 2017, she joined a Joint State Government Task Force Advisory Committee to review voting machine technology to provide guidance to counties in advance of future upgrades. Kathi previously served as the Chair of the County Government Workgroup on the Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force. She was appointed to this position by the Governor to help make sure that pipelines are built responsibly in the Commonwealth. This follows her work advocating for procedures that ensure public transparency and opportunities for input on pipeline projects. In the Fall of 2012, Commissioner Cozzone was deeply honored to be chosen as the recipient of the prestigious Leon H. Sullivan Award by the Chester County Opportunities Industrialization Center. In selecting Cozzone for this award it was said that, "We particularly appreciate your care and commitment to maintaining a flourishing work community and supporting access to economic self-sufficiency for the most disadvantaged among us." In the Spring of 2012, Commissioner Cozzone was pleased to be honored, along with her Board of Commissioner colleagues, with the prestigious Literacy Heroes "Medical Health" award for support of the Chester County Library's "Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies" initiative. She was also honored by the Pennsylvania Library Association. Additionally, Kathi was very proud to be formally recognized by the Disabled American Veterans, Chapter 90. This award was given to Kathi for her efforts to help establish the 1st monument to Disabled American Veterans in Chester County. The DAV monument now stands on County property, outside the historic Chester County Courthouse. Commissioner Kathi Cozzone brings a versatile corporate financial background to the highest office in Chester County government. After earning a BS degree in Accounting from the College of New Jersey, Kathi’s 20-year career in industry included a succession of increasingly responsible financial management positions. She managed large and complex budgets in several industries, most recently as Corporate Business Manager at Rodale, Inc., a world renowned publisher of books and magazines. At Rodale, Kathi provided financial management to the Information Technology, Operations and Administrative departments for the entire corporation. In that capacity, she was responsible for annual budget preparation and multi-year strategic planning for both operating and capital expenditures. Kathi is proud of her work to help bring about Chester County’s award-winning strategic planning process by drawing on this corporate experience. Prior to joining Rodale, Kathi began her career as a staff accountant, worked nine years in various business and financial management positions at MacMillan Publishing Company, was a Controller at a startup software company, and was Director of Treasury Operations in a managed services, e-commerce and networks systems business. Kathi resides in Uwchlan Township with her husband Victor and their son Victor. Commissioner Cozzone appreciates the opportunities that she is given as County Commissioner to serve all the citizens of Chester County. As she often says, “We should celebrate the many successes in Chester County, but we must recognize that we still face many challenges. I believe that there is nothing wrong in Chester County that cannot be fixed by what is right about Chester County.