Councilwoman Jennifer Cochran, D-at large, is the newest member of city counci
Athens City Councilwoman Jennifer Cochran spends much of her time in a warm, softly-lit space on the second floor of Ping Center. Here, ambient music and the smell of scented lotion flood the room.
It’s Ohio University’s Massage Services center and it’s where she works.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean her visits there aren’t therapeutic.
From 2002 to 2006, Cochran, D-at large, worked as an assistant communications and graduate programming director at OU’s Center for International Studies, but said she gave it up to have a more flexible schedule in raising her children.
“After years of being involved in a desk job, I wanted to do something more active,” she added.
So Cochran, already a 2000 OU grad, went back to school. She took massage therapy courses at Hocking College and received her certificate in 2009.
Now, in addition to the Massage Services center at Ping, she also takes appointments at the Athens Wellness Cooperative, 94 Columbus Rd., and the Athens County Visiting Nurse Association, headquartered at 30 Herrold Ave., where she makes house calls to homebound patients.
“I enjoy helping people both mentally and physically,” she said.
Cochran specializes in both Swedish and deep tissue massage. Swedish, as she put it, is more relaxed and good for anyone, while deep tissue is a more intensive process.
Her patients at Ping are mostly students with the occasional faculty member mixed in. Sometimes during Mom’s Weekend at the university, students will treat their mothers to a double therapy session.
“It’s interesting for me because I don’t think, as a college student myself, I was ever aware of massage therapy,” she said. “But I think that students today are more exposed to stimuli and more stress.”
“It’s not unheard of to have people fall asleep on the table,” she added.
After her appointment to council last summer, Cochran, who earns a yearly salary of $7,537 a year on council, said she’s faced the inherent stress of taking on a new job.
“I’m going to be learning along the way as we go,” she said.
The newest member of council, she serves as the body’s delegate to the city’s Shade Tree Commission and the Environment and Sustainability Commission.
“I’ve always been involved in active community service … so I thought this would be a natural extension of my community involvement,” she said.
After graduating from OU, she spent two years in Philadelphia working on an AmeriCorps mentoring program.
“I learned a lot about myself,” she said. “I think volunteer service is a great way to learn about ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses, as well as our role in the community.”
Though she is still the newcomer on council, Cochran is no stranger to the Athens County political scene. She campaigned for county commissioner Chris Chmiel in 2012.
In the little more than a year she has spent in office, Cochran said her primary concerns have been improving citywide energy sustainability and ensuring bike and pedestrian accessibility. She has been especially active in the region’s electrical aggregation plan, she said.
Councilman Steve Patterson, D-at large, chair of the City and Safety Services Committee, of which Cochran is vice chair, said that she has done well in taking up the banner left by former council member Elahu Gosney, who was also passionate about sustainability. Patterson said he hasn’t seen another councilmember take on a vice chair position so soon after being elected.
“She’s a strong city council member and a strong leader,” he said.
Councilwoman Michele Papai, D-Fourth Ward, said that as a councilmember joining mid-term, Cochran faced a steep learning curve.
“I’m happy with having someone on council who has school-aged children and has a parent’s perspective,” she said. “It helps round out the balance of perspective.”
Cochran also said that role has crafted her political views, specifically those regarding the environment.
“As someone with small children, it’s something on the forefront of my mind because they’re watching what we do,” she said. “It affects me on a day-to-day basis.”
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