{"id":2171,"date":"2018-12-04T12:42:58","date_gmt":"2018-12-04T17:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2171"},"modified":"2018-12-08T12:14:58","modified_gmt":"2018-12-08T17:14:58","slug":"in-her-own-words-alexis-cohen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2171","title":{"rendered":"In her own words: Alexis Cohen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Alexis Cohen is director of special events and community engagement, Marriott Syracuse Downtown.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>SWM: What\u2019s your first memory at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alexis: I was a flower girl for my uncle\u2019s wedding in the Grand Ballroom. Fast forward 20-plus years and I watched one of my weddings unfold and I watched the new couple dance from the balcony \u2014 it was magical.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SWM: What does your position as director of special events &amp; community engagement entail? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alexis: I oversee all of the hotel-sponsored events, and I work with any VIP guests or events. The community engagement piece involves working closely with nonprofit organizations in the community, whether it\u2019s hosting an event here at the hotel or giving back volunteer hours.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SWM: What sort of special events do you help facilitate? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alexis: I oversee all of the larger events, such as our annual Holiday Tree Lighting, New Year\u2019s Eve, St. Patrick\u2019s Day and other fun events like Dancing in the Moonlight, the Cabaret and Dinner Shows and our Masquerade.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SWM: The Marriott Syracuse Downtown recently partnered with two local groups, Salt City Burlesque, Society Girl + Cirqovation, to host a Enchantment in Wonderland. How does an event like that come together? What sort of planning goes into it? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alexis: It was pure magic working with these ladies. We just happened to be brainstorming and thinking of things that would appeal to a larger audience, and with some quick turnaround and fast planning, we had the most fantastic event that left our guests in awe and so many more people asking what are we doing next.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SWM: The downtown community has evolved in the past few years.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alexis: Its been monumental to watch the change happen, it never fails when someone walks into the hotel, they could be having the worst day and then they look up and they\u2019re greeted with beauty and warmth. I like to think that the hotel is just the beginning.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SWM: In your position, you strive to work with smaller nonprofit organizations in the area. How do you connect with such groups? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alexis: A lot of my work is done the old-fashioned way of meeting people through other people. My favorite part is looking for these grassroots organizations trying to become established in the nonprofit world and looking and willing to try new things. It allows me as a planner to get creative and help them from the roots up.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SWM: How do you see the relationship between a large business like Marriott Syracuse Downtown and those small nonprofit organizations? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alexis: One of the things that we are so proud of is our Community Room It\u2019s complementary to local organizations looking for a room to have a board meeting in, and they need a little more space and privacy that perhaps a caf\u00e9 can give them. We also have fantastic menus priced to accommodate their budgets. Finally our incentives to book your event with us for one or more years are hard to pass up \u2014 one of my favorites is our volunteer hours that we can give back to the organizations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SWM: What\u2019s your favorite part of your job as director of special events and community engagement? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alexis: I love that I get to be creative and see things come to life. Sometimes I feel like I\u2019m in a dream \u2014 these events are truly works of art. I am amazed each time to see how we are helping people that we didn\u2019t even know we would be able to help. Some nonprofits have been able to capture a whole new audience through to the hotel, so much so that they outgrew our space and now are creating new events to come back to us!<\/p>\n<p><strong>SWM: What inspires you? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alexis: I am very close with my grandma, who just celebrated her 90th birthday, and my mom. They always keep things in perspective, they\u2019re both community-minded and have always encouraged me to think beyond, so for me, they are my inspiration to keep pushing, doing more and bringing more light, laughter and love into this beautiful city and hotel I call home!<\/p>\n<p>Photo credit: Genesis II<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alexis Cohen is director of special events and community engagement, Marriott Syracuse Downtown. SWM: What\u2019s your first memory at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown? Alexis: I was a flower girl for my uncle\u2019s wedding in the Grand Ballroom. Fast forward 20-plus years and I watched one of my weddings unfold and I watched the new couple&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[720,188,721],"class_list":["post-2171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-alexis-cohen","tag-in-her-own-words","tag-mariott-downtown-syracuse"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG_0626_V2_HighRes.jpg?fit=5616%2C3744&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":540,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=540","url_meta":{"origin":2171,"position":0},"title":"20 Years with Syracuse City Ballet","author":"Staff","date":"February 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Syracuse City Ballet. To commemorate this milestone, the company is performing the first ballet it ever produced, \u201cSnow White.\u201d We took a look back with some of Syracuse City Ballet\u2019s current and former team. Photography by Alexis Emm Kathleen Rathbun Artistic director\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Featured&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=99"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Z_special-feature_ballet_0317_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Z_special-feature_ballet_0317_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Z_special-feature_ballet_0317_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Z_special-feature_ballet_0317_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Z_special-feature_ballet_0317_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":544,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=544","url_meta":{"origin":2171,"position":1},"title":"Natalie Clair Stetson","author":"Staff","date":"February 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Excitement in the Water By Kathryn Walsh | Photography by Alexis Emm\u00a0 Canals and New York state history aren\u2019t exactly at the forefront of the cultural zeitgeist these days. In Syracuse, at least, Natalie Clair Stetson is determined to change that.\u201d As the executive director of the Erie Canal Museum,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Featured&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=99"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Z_Inspire_Natalie_0317_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C789&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Z_Inspire_Natalie_0317_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C789&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Z_Inspire_Natalie_0317_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C789&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Z_Inspire_Natalie_0317_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C789&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Z_Inspire_Natalie_0317_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C789&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":856,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=856","url_meta":{"origin":2171,"position":2},"title":"Marybeth Fishman","author":"Staff","date":"June 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Syracuse Vegans Meetup Photography by Alice G. Patterson Marybeth Fishman is the founder of Syracuse Vegans Meetup Group. We caught up with her this month to talk about the impact a vegan diet has had on her life, how she came to found the group and more! SWM: When did\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Features&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=101"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/marybeth-chaet-fishman-founder-syracuse-vegan-meetup-0002.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/marybeth-chaet-fishman-founder-syracuse-vegan-meetup-0002.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/marybeth-chaet-fishman-founder-syracuse-vegan-meetup-0002.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/marybeth-chaet-fishman-founder-syracuse-vegan-meetup-0002.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/marybeth-chaet-fishman-founder-syracuse-vegan-meetup-0002.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1593,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1593","url_meta":{"origin":2171,"position":3},"title":"White Ribbon Campaign","author":"Staff","date":"March 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Standing with Women Photography provided by Vera House\u00a0 Each March, Vera House leads the White Ribbon Campaign to raise awareness and funds to stop domestic and sexual violence. 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