Kelli Cohen Fein is a third-generation Houstonian who worked her way through high school, college and medical school as a waitress at Chili’s restaurant. Professionally, she works as a diagnostic general and pediatric radiologist, participates as academic adjunct faculty and advocates for strengthening humanities education within the practice of medicine.
The focus of Dr. Cohen Fein’s work at the John P. and Kathrine G. McGovern Medical School at UTHealth addresses dehumanizing forces of technology and bureaucracy by teaching ways in which care and research can be delivered in an ethically sound, spiritually informed and culturally appropriate, compassionate manner. In this context, students in medicine evolve in their capacity to handle the inherent complexities of modern medical practice – where technical mastery is exceedingly sophisticated, issues of ethics are increasingly layered and existential meaning is often in question. The patient and the physician are both taken into the utmost consideration in the development of a humane professionalism that guides and sustains the work of the doctor while strengthening the medical profession’s tradition of service, integrity and compassionate care.
Transcending her career as a physician, Dr. Cohen Fein is a devoted wife, mother, stepmother and grandmother. She feels a visceral sense of eternal responsibility to the younger generations of the world which continues to motivate her community involvement near and far. Dr. Cohen Fein has served on the Harris County Medical Society Ethics Board, as president of the Houston Radiological Society, as a facilitator for the Interdisciplinary Drug Education Alliance program and in leadership positions for diverse arenas throughout our city, state and nation for the American Women’s Medical Association and on an international stage by serving on the executive committee for the Women’s Cancer Foundation addressing efforts in S. Asia, Latin America and Africa to downstage breast and cervical cancer, improve mortality rates and help mitigate the global burden of cancer. The Texas Medical Association Foundation described Dr. Cohen Fein as someone who “inspires new gold standards of excellence everywhere she goes.”
In her role as a community volunteer, Dr. Cohen Fein has raised awareness – along with millions of dollars – as chair of major fundraising events for the American Cancer Society, the Roy M. and Phyllis Gough Huffington Center on Aging at Baylor College of Medicine, the Foundation for Teen Health, the Brookwood Community, the Children’s Museum Houston, the Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, Dec My Room, Easterseals Community and Disability Services, El Centro de Corazon, Fund for Teachers, Habitat for Humanity, Houston Community College, Holocaust Museum Houston, Houston Ballet, Houston Symphony, Houston Zoo, The Immunization Partnership, Joan and Stanford Alexander Jewish Family Service, Legacy Health Services, The Living Bank, March of Dimes, Medical Bridges, Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, The Rebecca and John J. Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, RARE Pearls Inc., The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, Seven Acres Jewish Senior Care Services, University St. Thomas, Texas Medical Association Foundation, Texas Children’s Hospital, Texas Medical Center Orchestra, The Health Museum, The Women’s Fund and others. Dr. Cohen Fein and her daughter, Jordan, co-founded “Flower Power Gives” – now “Petal Power” – along with another mother-daughter team, Gina Gaston Elie and daughter Lauren Elie, in 2015. This 501(c)3 organization salvages florals from galas, luncheons and weddings with a mission to mitigate the waste of nature’s bounty and share the joy and validation flowers bring with Houston’s most vulnerable citizens and staff at shelters, clinics and retirement centers across the greater Houston area. Petal Power expanded successfully to Beaumont and will launch in the Dallas area next year.
Dr. Cohen Fein and her husband, Martin Fein, received the Anti-Defamation League’s Torch of Liberty Award for their perennial commitment to civic engagement, Holocaust education and promoting unity among all people. As a woman who has benefitted from many mentors (including Dr. Michael E. DeBakey during her time as a college freshman in the DeBakey Summer Surgery Program), Dr. Cohen Fein feels indebted to the myriad guiding lights along her life’s path. Ever mindful of the “shoulders of giants” upon which she stands, she meets this personal responsibility to advance the legacy of promoting excellence and self-actualization for girls through her work with STEM/STEAM training – affiliated with the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce, the Girl Scouts and the Chevron Science Fair – emboldening younger generations in every walk of life while helping to heal our world.
