Jeff Cogan, a GFA member since 1976, served as Artistic Director of the Guitar Foundation of America International Guitar Competition from 1987-2008. Under his leadership, the competition became one of the most prestigious events of its kind. Since the 1980s, Mr. Cogan has contributed to Soundboard, participated in regular board meetings, and served on the Executive Committee of the Guitar Foundation of America.

While still a student at California State University at Northridge, Jeffrey Cogan, M.A., was honored by being invited to perform for the great Spanish Maestro of the guitar, Andres Segovia. Segovia subsequently invited Mr. Cogan to Geneva for further studies. After finishing his studies he built a career in performing and teaching the guitar at CSUN and at Chapman University.

Since then Mr. Cogan has performed around the USA and Europe. In 1998, Cogan was invited to Perigueux, France, to perform and teach at the Ecole Brittain with the acclaimed French guitarist Olivier Chassain. In 1999, Mr. Cogan performed works as diverse as the lute part of the St. John Passion with the William Hall Master Chorale and the contemporary jazz guitar in Fred Katz's Concerto for Buddy at the West Coast Jazz II festival in Newport Beach, California. During the spring and summer of 2004, Mr. Cogan was invited to adjudicate different competitions in Austria and France. He was also a featured performer in the Fabritio Caroso guitar festival in Lanuvio, Italy. In the summer of 2005 Mr. Cogan performed a concert for the VIII Festival De Musica De Guitarra, "Villa de Aranda" in Aranda de Duero, Spain. He also performed in several cities in Serbia in 2006. He recently gave a performance/lecture/presentation on the French guitar builder, Daniel Friederich for the Eastfield Guitar Festival in Dallas, Texas.

Mr. Cogan's work in the Conservatory of Music at Chapman University has won praise for him and his students alike. He is Director of Guitar Studies and Music Technology as well as frequent performer in many of the Conservatory of Music concerts. He is also the program director for the Orange County Guitar Circle.

In 2009, Mr. Cogan took on a new role as a member of the Guitar Foundation of America’s inaugural Board of Trustees. He will also serve as a member of the GFA Competition Committee.