L IS T ED BY AL PHAB E T IC AL O R D ER
Lauren Cohen
e-Council Inc.
Combining her business acumen, legal
background and experience, Lauren
Cohen founded e-Council Inc. in 2008
with a socially-conscious mission of
giving back. Lauren’s desire to improve
service provider communication,
productivity and work product quality
in the immigration industry prompted
the company’s creation.
Philip Cohen
Strategic Element Inc.
Phil Cohen is the President of Strategic
Element Inc. and has been offering
professional services in the EB-5
industry since 2010. His company
offers three critical EB-5 services:
business plans, economic impact reports
and feasibility studies. Cohen is the
editor and primary author, alongside
several other leading professionals, of
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EB-5 BUSINESS PLAN WRITERS
Offering turnkey concierge EB-5
strategies designed to support the
growth of U.S. companies while
helping immigrants pursuing the
American Dream, e-Council boasts a
stellar track record and reputation for
success. Cohen’s team works tirelessly
to ensure that every client is not only
satisfied with the work product, but also
successful in achieving their goals.
e-Council Inc. serves not only as
a strategic EB-5 resource, but also
as a stakeholder in the success and
outcome of their clients’ projects. The
company has worked with clients on
numerous EB-5 cases including strategic
consulting, setting up Regional Centers,
preparing Regional Center projects
and developing EB-5 direct investment
cases. Well over 100 companies have
relied on e-Council Inc. to demystify
the complex EB-5 process and prepare
their projects for USCIS.
Prior to launching e-Council Inc.,
Cohen obtained her Juris Doctor degree
from Toronto’s Osgoode Hall Law School
after graduating cum laude with honors
from York University, and is currently
an attorney licensed in both Canada and
the United States. As an immigrant and
now U.S. citizen, Cohen has had direct
experience with the visa process.
She is an active member of AILA,
Invest in the USA, EB5IC, EB-5
Investors, and others. As a nationally-recognized expert in the field,
Cohen is a frequent local, regional and
national speaker, guest lecturer and
moderator. Cohen is a board member
and contributor to a variety of regional
and national charities. She enjoys writing,
reading, travelling, working out and
swimming, and spending time with
family and friends, most particularly her
young son and family dog Lila. Cohen
also tries to learn new things and to meet
new people regularly by attending events,
participating in classes and networking
functions, and participating in a variety
of hands-on lea rning activities.
The EB-5 Definitive Guide, one of the
first comprehensive publications for
beginners in the EB-5 industry. He also
regularly speaks at industry conferences
including: EB-5 Investors conferences,
the iGlobal Forum seminar on Raising
EB-5 Capital, the Canadian Bar
Association and the Pincus Professional
Education EB-5 Seminar. Cohen is also
a regular contributor of articles to EB-5
Investors Magazine.
Since launching his business, which
has been a party to projects that have
raised (or are raising) more than $3
billion in EB-5 capital, Cohen has seen
a world of change in the industry.
“USCIS requirements have become
much more exacting and the investors and
agents have become far more sophisticated
in terms of their analysis and expectations
of EB-5 projects. All the while, the
marketplace has become significantly
more crowded; there were around 100
regional centers in 2010, growing to about
800 today,” says Cohen.
Cohen says that his company has
grown in line with the program, ensuring
that his company’s products provide
the extra layer of sophistication and
depth required for today’s projects to be
successful. According to Cohen, “when
it comes to succeeding in a crowded
marketplace, quality counts; the stakes
are just too high. Our clients are tend to
be the ones who recognize the need for
quality in order to stand out”.
Strategic Element’s team has
grown to include several MBAs and
PhD economists and the company
has EB-5 experience with a very broad
range of EB-5 businesses. Cohen’s
prior background includes a degree in
Administrative and Commercial Studies
from The University of Western Ontario
and the development of several businesses and business units for large public
companies as well as small start-ups.
EB5 INVESTORS MAGAZINE