Teofila "Totti" Cohen , ''née'' Kaplun (5 March 1932 – 29 August 2010) was an Australian educational reformer and solicitor who served as president of the Federation of Parents and Citizens Associations of New South Wales from 1973 to 1980.

Biography

Teofila (

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

, "Totti") Kaplun was born in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

emigrants Stanley Kaplun and Adel, ''née'' Gutman. She attended local primary schools and then Parramatta and Sydney Girls' high schools. She topped the state in history in the Leaving Certificate, also winning first-class honours in English and Latin; consequently she won a scholarship to the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, where she graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and a

Bachelor of Law Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1956. In that year she married Neville Albert Cohen; they would adopt one son in 1960 before Cohen gave birth to another in 1961. She was the first woman employed as a solicitor at Minter Simpson, before moving to F. W. Jenkins and Co. which she eventually bought after Jenkins's death. She explored the option of teaching when her sons began attending school and enrolled externally at the University of New England, but discovered that teaching positions were only readily available north of Tamworth and gave up the idea. She joined the Parents and Citizens (P&C) Association at Coogee and by 1968 rose to the state council. She ran as a candidate for the

Defence of Government Schools The Council for Defence of Government Schools was an Australian political lobby group and political party formed in 1966, which contested federal and state elections between 1969 and 1973 (with one outlying appearance in 1985). The group was prima ...

group in the 1969 federal election, challenging the

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

, Sir William Aston, for his seat of Phillip; she received 2.3% of the vote. In 1973 she was elected president of the Federation of P&C Associations, and significantly increased the influence and political involvement of the organisation. Awarded an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1978, she was a parent representative on the Education Commission and vice-president of the Australian Council of School Organisations. She retired in 1980. Following her retirement from the P&C presidency, Cohen served part-time on the Social Security Appeals Tribunal and the Consumer, Trading and Tenancy Tribunal, and was chairwoman of the New South Wales Privacy Committee from 1983 to 1993. Awarded the AM in 1987, she was also involved in the National Council of Jewish Women and the Jewish Board of Deputies. She died in 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Totti 1932 births 2010 deaths Australian Jews Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent Education activists Officers of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Order of Australia National Council of Jewish Women