Education
University of Michigan, BA, Psychology
Columbia University, MSW
Experience
Deborah combines expertise in cognitive, behavioral and social psychology, public speaking, and coaching. She started her career at age 17, when she won the U.S. National Championship in public speaking as a high school senior and was immediately recruited to coach on presentation and communication skills at colleges and corporations. Deborah is an instructor of Management Communication at the Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania. She also serves as a Visiting Professor of Executive Communications at the Beijing International MBA Program at Peking University, China, where she prepares senior leaders from around the world to communicate more effectively in a growing global marketplace. She has been a featured expert and a contributor to Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, Forbes, Fast Company, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Fox Business Network, and American Express OPEN Small Business Forum. Deborah is the author of “Tips of the Tongue: The Non-Native English Speaker’s Guide to Mastering Public Speaking,” which highlights her global coaching and teaching work in presentation skills.
Recent clients
FCB, Anthem Worldwide, BCG, Ropes & Gray, Bloomberg, American Express, U.S. Senate, U.S. Army, Walmart, Hudson’s Bay Company, Kraft, Pfizer, Novartis, Celgene, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, Google, Monotype, Teradyne, T-Mobile
Training and Certification
International Coach Federation, Professional Certified Coach (PCC); The Coaches Training Institute, graduate; Coach U, Core Essentials Program graduate; Coaching Out of the Box, Licensed Trainer; DiSC Behavioral Inventory, Certified Facilitator; Appreciative Inquiry, Certified Facilitator; Kaiser Leadership Solutions, Leadership Versatility Index (LVI), Certified Facilitator.
At The Boda Group…
Deborah combines the use of coping models (to reduce anxiety and increase confidence) and mastery models (to accelerate learning and skills transfer, as well as to lock in behavioral change). Deborah brings her warmth and wit to every engagement, as she believes that humor reduces people’s resistance to change.
Leadership is…
a balancing act between professional credibility and personal authenticity. People are drawn to and trust leaders who demonstrate confidence in what they’re doing and where the organization is headed but are also open to sharing their concerns, missteps, and lessons learned along the way.
I learned to be a risk-taker by…
performing stand-up and improvisational comedy at New York City comedy clubs in my 20s.
One thing I learned recently…
that asking for and accepting help is a sign of strength, not weakness. For someone in a helping profession, it took me a bit too long time to come to that conclusion for myself. This is only one of many, many lessons I have learned from my clients.
When I’m not working with clients, I’m…
trying out new recipes at home in New York with my ‘tween twins, Jacob and Sophie, and my husband, Michael—all foodies.