Zipporah Michelbacher Cohen (1853 – 1944) was an American civic leader and president of the Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Association in Richmond, Virginia for 34 years.

[2][3] Cohen's civic duties began in childhood when her parents opened their home as an informal hospital caring for wounded Confederate soldiers.

In 1880, Cohen took up her first formal position as treasurer of the Richmond Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Infirmary, a clinic for those unable to otherwise obtain medical care.

[1] In 1904 Cohen was elected president of the Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Association (still in operation today as Jewish Family Services of Richmond).

[4] During Cohen's presidency, the association began to expand its efforts beyond material relief to offer advice to its clients on ways to improve their situations, and in 1937 the LHBA hired its first professional social worker.