Miami Presents: Women Crush Wednesday with Debbie Feldman '80

 

Women Crush Wednesday is a speaker series developed by the Hillel at Miami University running Wednesdays during the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year. Hillel student leaders, Emily Garforth and Madison McQueen, will be interviewing a variety of female-identifying Jewish leaders in a wide range of industries. The conversations are open to students, alumni, and friends and the full schedule can be found at the bottom of this listing.  

 

Join Miami Student, Madison McQueen '23, and Hillel Executive Director, Whitney Fisch, as they engage in conversation with President and CEO of Dayton Children's Hospital, Debbie Feldman '80. In March of 2020, Feldman was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine to Miami University’s board of trustees. Deborah joined Dayton Children’s in 2012 and led the creation of a new strategic roadmap called Destination 2020. It involves a campuswide revitalization, services expansion in key areas, recruitment of highly specialized pediatric experts, and the integration of advanced technology.  

 

In this 1-hour long conversation, Maddie and Whitney will talk with Ms. Feldman about her journey to her current position as the CEO and President of Dayton's Children Hospital, what it was like navigating an entire hospital through a pandemic while also joining the Board of Trustees at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. We'll also talk about what Miami University was like in the 80s and hear just how much has changed since.  There will also be time at the end for viewers to ask their own questions. 

 

Deborah Feldman has been an active community leader for over thirty years. In her current position she serves as the fourth president and chief executive officer of Dayton Children’s Hospital.

Since joining the organization in 2012 Debbie has set the vision and path for the hospital’s significant growth overseeing a campus-wide revitalization, services expansion in key areas, recruitment of highly specialized pediatric experts, and the integration of advanced technology; all in a uniquely family-centered setting.

Prior to Dayton Children’s, Debbie served Montgomery County government for thirty years, the last sixteen as County Administrator. In that role she led many critical community initiatives including the Homeless Solutions Ten Year Plan, the Out-of-School Youth Taskforce, the Montgomery County Healthcare Safety Net Task Force and the establishment of the Community Health Centers of Greater Dayton.  Her leadership in economic development included the development of Riverscape and the Austin Interchange.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Ms. Feldman has a strong record of community service. She currently serves as a Board member of the Children’s Hospital Association, Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, the Ohio Hospital Association and as a member of the Miami University Board of Trustees. She serves as the Chair of the Preschool Promise Board, created in 2017 to increase access to high-quality preschool for 4 year-olds in the City of Dayton, as well as the Montgomery County Family and Children’s First Council, and the DaVinci Neighborhood Redevelopment Collaborative. Further, she is a member of the Board of Directors of the Dayton Development Coalition and the Advisory Boards of the Dayton Power and Light and JJR Solutions.

Her contributions have been recognized by the YWCA Women of Influence Award, Dayton Daily News Top Ten Women Award, Dayton Daily News 2006 Person of the Year, the Dayton Business Journal’s Ten Most Influential People (2011) and the National Conference of Community Justice’s Humanitarian Award. Additionally, she has been honored by the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio, Leadership Dayton and the United Way of Greater Dayton and was recognized at the 2018 League of Women Voters event as one of their Dangerous Dames.

Debbie holds a B.A. in political science from Miami University and a Master’s of Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.