Executive Director, PENTA COHRAN MOORE

Penta Moore stands as a distinguished executive leader, advocate for cultural preservation, family archivist, and public speaker. Her life’s work is centered on honoring and propelling the profound legacy of her father, the late Kelan Phil Cohran—a legendary jazz composer, innovative educator, inventor, and a founding pillar of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).

A native of Chicago, Penta is the seventh of Kelan Phil Cohran's nineteen children and the eldest of five born to Linda Cohran. Raised in an environment where music, academic pursuit, and community service were deeply intertwined, she trained as a flutist under her father’s mentorship. This early immersion fostered both technical mastery and a poignant understanding of music’s historical depth. She maintained her musical studies through her university years, viewing this training as a vital bridge to her father’s artistic philosophy. A defining moment in her journey was performing with him at the 1985 Chicago Jazz Festival, a milestone that cemented her respect for his creative vision and enduring influence.

Currently, Penta directs significant efforts toward documenting and sharing her father's expansive impact on music, education, and Black cultural history. As a key representative of the Cohran family in various archival and educational ventures, she ensures his contributions remain reachable for posterity. Her work involves collaborating with major archives, managing public exhibitions, contributing to symposia, and overseeing a vast collection of family artifacts, including original manuscripts, rare recordings, and instruments.

With over a decade of experience in higher education, Penta has built a career centered on executive operations, strategic planning, and organizational effectiveness.  Her professional experience includes roles across county government, higher education, corporate leadership, and marketing.  In addition, her work in public governance and global IT consulting strengthened her skills in project management, relationship management, and cross-functional collaboration.

Beyond her administrative roles, Penta is also a licensed Real Estate Broker, bringing expertise in client relations, negotiations, and real estate investment strategies. She holds a Master of Business Administration from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, her home for over two decades.

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Driven by her heritage, Penta remains a fervent champion for the preservation of Black history, ensuring the narratives of community builders and artists are celebrated. She is a frequent speaker on Kelan Phil Cohran’s life, exploring his role in cultural self-determination and education. Alongside her siblings, she continues to advocate for the values that defined her father’s mission.

Penta lives in Chicago with her husband, her college sweetheart of thirty-two years. Together, they have raised two children and remain dedicated to their pillars of faith, family, and the ongoing stewardship of cultural legacy.