Deborah C. Jackson's career in urban policy and community services spans more than 20 years. In 2002 she became CEO of the American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay, one of the 10 largest Red Cross chapters in the United States with an annual operating budget of $13 million. Under Ms. Jackson's leadership, a priority for the Boston chapter is to further develop community education and preparedness training in order to enhance the capacity of individuals, families, and communities to prepare for and respond to unexpected events. She has strengthened the organization through strategic partnerships as an important tool in ensuring its ability to continue to effectively deliver critical services such as hunger relief and job training.
Prior to joining the Red Cross, Ms. Jackson was Vice President for Programs at the Boston Foundation and previously the Sr. Vice President for Network Development and Community Service at Children's Hospital of Boston. She had been leader of two key local non-profit organizations--Morgan Memorial and Goodwill Industries, Inc.—and was Goodwill's first African-American president in its 100-year history, across a national network of 200 Goodwill agencies.
Ms. Jackson also has been Executive Director of the Roxbury Comprehensive Community Health Center where she co-founded and incorporated two organizations, the Neighborhood Health Plan HMO and the Multicultural AIDS Coalition and Deputy Director of the Health Care and Income Security Group. Her professional career began at Abt Associates, Inc.
Ms. Jackson has served on numerous commissions, task forces and boards, including appointments by Mayor Menino to the “2 to 6 Initiative Task Force” to develop policy recommendations for after-school programs for children and youth, and to the Boston 2000 Commission, which guided the City's year-long initiatives that ushered in the new millennium. She is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Boston College Carroll School of Management and a former trustee/director of Roxbury Community College, Milton Academy, Children's Hospital, and City Year.
Ms. Jackson attended undergraduate school at Hampton Institute and completed her undergraduate degree at Northeastern University. She also attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Urban Studies and Planning for graduate studies. She is married and has two adult sons.
Deborah C. Jackson's career in urban policy and community services spans more than 20 years. In 2002 she became CEO of the American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay, one of the 10 largest Red Cross chapters in the United States with an annual operating budget of $13 million. Under Ms. Jackson's leadership, a priority for the Boston chapter is to further develop community education and preparedness training in order to enhance the capacity of individuals, families, and communities to prepare for and respond to unexpected events. She has strengthened the organization through strategic partnerships as an important tool in ensuring its ability to continue to effectively deliver critical services such as hunger relief and job training. 
