DMTF was saddened to learn that Josh Cohen, former Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors, recently passed away. In addition to serving as Microsoft's primary representative to the organization, Josh was instrumental in driving DMTF's WS-Management specification efforts, which resulted in a single management protocol for desktop, mobile, and server management. As the first Chair of the Process and Incubation Committee when it was chartered, Josh made invaluable contributions to DMTF's board operations, standards development process, and standards incubation efforts--modernizing the organization's bylaws and other policies during an active period of engagement and participation. This was a time of competing ideas, dueling proposals, debates, and eventually: collaboration and agreement. A copy of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised was always nearby. DMTF matured as an organization and continues to benefit from Josh's past efforts.

In recapping the year 2010, Winston Bumpus (DMTF President Emeritus) wrote: "We have continued to improve and refine our processes and added several new incubators thanks to the leadership of Josh Cohen, Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors.  These processes enabled us to successfully complete the work undertaken by the Open Cloud Standards Incubator and transition into full-fledged specification development within the Cloud Management Workgroup. The incubator process has been so successful that we have seen many additional incubators launched this year as a pre-standardization activity." 

Josh joined the DMTF Board in August of 2004, perhaps lured into attending his first face-to-face meeting due to the location on Martha's Vineyard. Elected Vice-Chair in 2006, he served over 6 years in that role prior to leaving both Microsoft and DMTF in 2012 to begin the next chapter in his professional career: founding the Open Supporter Data Interface Project (OSDI), an effort to define an API and data structures for interoperability among products in the progressive cause-based, campaign and non-profit marketplace. In 2014, his work received a write up in the Washington Post [subscription required].

Photo of Josh Cohen (front and center) Newport, R.I. August 2005