Kasondra Cohen-Herrendorf

Kasondra Cohen-Herrendorf

President and CEO

AGE: 29

COMPANY: Face of Today Foundation

The Story: As the daughter of philanthropist and Army and Navy CEO Jacqui Cohen and financial trader Hershel Herrendorf, Kasondra Cohen-Herrendorf grew up profoundly aware of her privilege and the importance of giving back. Diagnosed with dyslexia, she attended West Vancouver’s prestigious Collingwood School, where in Grade 11 she started an endowment fund for students with learning disabilities. In 2009, inspired by her mother’s Face the World Foundation, which raises and distributes funds for a variety of local charities, Cohen-Herrendorf launched Face of Today: a foundation that raises money for youth-focused charities, funding programs such as music therapy, hip-hop workshops, wakeboarding camps and mental health programs. “Every kid deserves a chance,” she says. “Whether you have all the money in the world or no money.”

Markers of Success: To date, Face of Today has raised more than $1 million, with its annual gala netting $250,000 in 2015. The foundation has funded music therapy programs through B.C. Children’s Hospital and the burn unit at Vancouver General Hospital and partnered with charities such as Music Heals, the Street to Home Foundation, Boys Club Network and Ray-Cam Co-operative Centre. Cohen-Herrendorf hopes to expand the foundation internationally and eventually raise $1 million annually.

PHOTO: ADAM BLASBERG