WHO WE WORK WITH
DBC works to support visionary individuals and organizations. Our mission is to promote social good within communities by helping the changemakers—who know them best—to increase funding, cultivate effective boards, and facilitate projects with real-world impact.
GRANT WRITING & PROJECT MANAGEMENT
A founding member of the Newburgh Clean Water Project (NCWP), Deborah is part of the NCWP Steering Committee and does grant writing and project management for the group. She was co-writer of a grant from the Water Foundation, which was funded at $60,000 in 2019 to support community education on watershed protection and issues surrounding the contamination of Newburgh’s reservoir with PFAS. The NCWP works to protect Newburgh’s access to clean drinking water and engage the local and regional community in watershed protection and restoration for the well being of current and future generations.
GRANT WRITING, BOARD AFFAIRS & PROJECT MANAGEMENT
As chief of staff at Riverkeeper, Deborah was called on to pinch-hit while the organization was between grant writers. She helped deliver several different kinds of grant applications within tight deadlines, complete and on time. During her tenture Deborah helped Riverkeeper leadership advance the governance practices of the board of directors, and managed diverse projects for the organization. Riverkeeper is a staunch advocate for the protection of the Hudson River and its communities, and the drinking water of millions of New Yorkers.
GRANT WRITING
Chickpeas Childcare Center is an innovative parent-run cooperative pre-school in Brooklyn New York. As part of a parent governance team, Deborah helped write the application for a grant to offer a universal pre-kindergarten program, then a brand new concept. The team, trained by Carmen Farina, then District 15 superintendent, was successful in obtaining a UPK contract for the school. To this day, Chickpeas offers a free Universal Pre-Kindergarten program.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT & BOARD AFFAIRS
At the Romanian-American Enterprise Fund Deborah was exposed to a cutting-edge for-profit/non-profit hybrid model for private equity, micro lending and business brokerage as a means of teaching the best of western business practices to entrepreneurs in an emerging market. Part of the model was the planned obsolescence of the Fund, which was to end after 15 years of operation. The idea was to leave behind the best and brightest in the country managing a for-profit and a non-profit institution to continue the work of the Fund, post-USAID and US Department of State funding. Deborah served as corporate secretary and project manager in the Fund's New York office, supporting colleagues in Romania and in New York.
BOARD AFFAIRS
Deborah helped to establish the Romanian-American Foundation as part of the trajectory of RAEF, working to establish the new 501(c)3. She assisted RAEF management and board members to recruit and form a board of directors for the new foundation and to support the executive director, an extraordinary Romanian investment officer from the Fund who transitioned into the new non-profit role.
As corporate secretary, Deborah worked with colleagues abroad to plan board meetings in Romania and New York, writing resolutions, taking meeting minutes, helping to formulate and compile meeting agendas and materials, and managing detailed travel, hotel and meeting logistics. In addition, Deborah wrote website and annual report copy as needed. The Romanian-American Foundation supports education, entrepreneurship and community development in Romania, on behalf of the American people.
FOUNDATION SUPPORT
As a senior in college, Deborah conducted a needs assessment for menswear designer Alexander Julian, who wanted to know if there was a need for him to start a foundation to foster children’s creativity in schools and other settings. They found there was a great need, and after graduation Deborah helped Alex establish, develop and manage the Alexander Julian Foundation for Aesthetic Education and Understanding. The foundation was an operating foundation, and as program director Deborah traveled the country forging alliances with artists from different disciplines, as well as arts educators, grant makers in the arts and policy makers supporting art and aesthetic education.