After a nationwide search, onePULSE Foundation – a nonprofit established following the June 12, 2016 tragedy – recently announced the appointment of Deborah Bowie as its Executive Director. The group said Bowie is a highly accomplished, results-driven and community-focused executive with more than three decades of nonprofit and public sector experience.
Bowie joins onePULSE with the foundation having recently embarked on a new three-year strategic plan and entering the next crucial phases of the final design, construction and operation of the National Pulse Memorial & Museum and Orlando Health Survivors Walk, with the goal to have the entire project completed by 2026. To best position onePULSE for maximum success during this period and beyond, the foundation created the new position of Executive Director while eliminating its Chief Operating Officer position.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome Deborah as our Executive Director,” said Earl Crittenden, chairman of the onePULSE Foundation Board of Trustees, and a member of the Executive Director Selection Committee that unanimously approved Bowie’s hiring. “Deborah’s depth of knowledge and breadth of experience, combined with her strategic vision, and unwavering dedication and passion, makes her uniquely qualified to lead onePULSE into this next stage of our journey to realize the National Pulse Memorial & Museum.”
“I am honored and privileged to serve as Executive Director of onePULSE Foundation,” said Bowie. “I look forward to working with our exceptionally talented staff and board members, our dedicated partners, and the community, to help drive onePULSE’s mission to create and support a memorial that opens hearts, a museum that opens minds, educational programs that open eyes and legacy scholarships that open doors.
Bowie, whose sister was fatally shot in a highly publicized triple homicide in Miramar, Florida in 1994, added: “I, too, understand what it means to have to rebuild every aspect of who you are after such a life-changing tragedy. It is with this additional sense of purpose, and drawing on my own personal grief journey, that I will strive to continue the advancement of onePULSE’s incredible work.”
As part of the foundation’s new leadership structure, Barbara Poma, founder of onePULSE and also a member of the Executive Director Selection Committee, recently pivoted to focus her work on onePULSE’s national fundraising efforts.
“We are excited to bring Deborah on board as Executive Director of onePULSE,” said Poma. “Deborah is a dynamic, creative and skilled leader who brings to the role a wealth of relevant experience and expertise. We are confident that Deborah will help us continue to build upon the tremendous momentum we’ve established and propel our mission forward as we take the next steps towards the creation of the National Pulse Memorial & Museum.”
As Executive Director, Bowie will oversee all aspects of the foundation’s day-to-day operations, including staff, budget, fundraising, volunteers, task force, data, contracts, community and client relations and programs, and all office administrative needs for the organization. Bowie will report directly to the Chairman of the Board and is accountable to onePULSE Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
Bowie brings notable public and nonprofit sector experience to onePULSE, most recently holding several senior public administrator roles with the City of Gainesville (FL) from May 2018 to January 2022, including Assistant City Manager, Interim City Manager and Executive Chief of Staff. During this time, she oversaw several public-facing units of city government and helped the City negotiate a historic unanimous ratification of its labor contract with the Fraternal Order of Police, Gainesville chapter. Other public sector experience includes serving as Chief of Staff for the Mayor of Birmingham (AL), and a Senior Public Information Officer for the Office of the City Council, also in Birmingham.
Bowie’s nonprofit experience includes serving as President and CEO of the United Way of North Central FL from January 2015 through June 2018. From April 2013 to January 2015, Bowie was Vice President of Development for the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce with concurrent responsibilities as Director of Leadership Gainesville.
Prior to her relocation to Florida, Bowie held the position of Senior Director of Public Policy and Communications at the Albany (GA) Area Chamber of Commerce between March 2011 and April 2013, where she held concurrent duties as the Chamber’s registered lobbyist representing the interests of the Marine Corps Logistics Base, MCLB-Albany.
Bowie’s early career includes experience working as a journalist for The Birmingham Post-Herald, and television stations WBRC-FOX6 and ABC 33/40 in Birmingham and a field producer for WLS-ABC 7 News in Chicago.
Bowie graduated magna cum laude from Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans with a Bachelor of Arts in communications, and is currently completing her Masters in Public Administration from the University of Central Florida.
A Miami native, Bowie will be relocating from Gainesville to Orlando with her triplet children.
