[1] Previously, he served as the Press Secretary to former Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer and his successor David Paterson.
[2] When he finished university, he took part in Tribune Company's prestigious Minority Editorial Training Program and after that became a member of the Los Angeles Times as a staff reporter.
[3] Living and working in Los Angeles, Cockfield interviewed famous hip hop artists, and wrote about white power skinhead attacks on blacks, encouraging the Commission on Human Relations to pay attention to this trend.
[4] He has been a freelance contributor to magazines such as The Source, Upscale, and Vibe, has appeared on television and radio as a commentator on media, journalism and writing, and his original work has won several New York City poetry slam competitions.
[2] In 2007 Cockield was employed by former Governor Eliot Spitzer as Press Secretary for the Empire State Development Corporation.