[1] After graduation he worked as a banker in New York City and in 1917, returned to San Francisco where he attended the US Army officer training program at the Presidio.
[1] He was not allowed to transfer to the Intelligence Corps overseas during World War I because of his German last name and instead served at Governor's Island, New York.
Koshland served with various charities in varying capacities in the San Francisco area including the Industrial Welfare Commission; the Human Rights Commission; the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Committee; Planned Parenthood; Mount Zion Hospital; the Community Chest; the United Bay Area Crusade; the Citizen's Lobby for Freedom and Fair Play; the San Francisco Development Commission on Low-Cost Housing; the Council on Civic Unity; and the American Red Cross.
He organized the business community to create jobs for World War II refugees and served as the national vice chairman of the United Negro College Fund.
[1][4] Eleanor would later be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and would devote a good portion of her philanthropy toward people with disabilities.