Linda Cohen: 1,000 Mitzvahs to Chief Heart Officer

Linda Cohen has spent more than a decade helping organizations understand the value of kindness in leadership, workplace culture, and everyday interactions. As a speaker, consultant, and author, she has built a career around the idea that kindness creates lasting impact. Her journey into this work began as a personal response to loss.

Linda was born in New York City and raised in Boston and Vermont before moving to Oregon in 1995. Her professional path was not a straight line. She pursued graduate studies in fundraising in Los Angeles and later spent many years as a stay-at-home mother. While building her career, an unexpected event changed the direction of her life.

In 2006, Linda's father died from lung cancer. In the weeks that followed, she found herself searching for a way to honor his memory while navigating her own grief. Inspired by Jewish tradition, she committed to completing 1,000 mitzvahs, or acts of kindness, in his honor. She documented the journey through a daily blog, and what began as a personal healing practice gradually became something much larger.

The 1,000 Mitzvahs project created countless meaningful moments, not all of them profound. One story involves noticing that a restaurant restroom was out of toilet paper and replacing the roll herself. That small act became a signature example in her talks: a tiny, invisible kindness that still makes the world a bit better for whoever comes next. She often refers to it as the “toilet paper” mitzvah and now often brings a purple roll of toilet paper on stage as a prop when speaking. She uses it to illustrate that small, unseen acts still matter, and you can “leave a place better than you found it” in simple, ordinary ways.

Over time, the lessons from the mitzvah project evolved into books, speaking engagements, and consulting work. Linda became increasingly interested in how kindness influences workplace culture and leadership. Linda shared a story about a US Bank employee who, on Christmas Eve, left the company headquarters to give a stranded customer twenty dollars of her own money so he could get home after his check was held up. Instead of being recognized for helping someone in need, she was fired for that decision. A California credit union later hired the employee and told her they would have applauded the same act. For Linda, this contrast reveals the gap between organizations that rigidly enforce rules and those that deliberately prioritize humanity.

She also shared examples of leadership that continue to inspire her. One was former Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson, who recorded a candid video message to employees while battling pancreatic cancer during the early days of the pandemic. His honesty, vulnerability, and transparency demonstrated the kind of leadership Linda believes builds trust and connection.

Today, Linda continues speaking and consulting while pursuing a new vision: serving organizations as a fractional Chief Heart Officer. Inspired by leaders like Claude Silver, who intentionally place people and culture at the center of business, she sees this as a natural extension of her work. She also describes herself as a “hope dealer,” someone who helps people recognize possibility, connection, and purpose.

“I want to leave people feeling better than when they came into that room.”

Linda Cohen is a speaker, consultant, author, and workplace kindness advocate who believes that investing in kindness strengthens people, organizations, and communities. Keep an eye out for more interviews.