Meet Deborah

4th Generation Little Falls Resident

Early History:

Deborah’s great-grandparents on her mother’s side came to Little Falls in the late 1800s from County Cork, Ireland, to escape the potato famine. Her great-grandfather was a sheep herder in Ireland and, like so many at that time, found work with the railroad as a baggage clerk and then a switchman here in Little Falls.

Her father was a 2nd generation plumbing contractor in Little Falls and served in the Korean War. After the war, he returned home to Little Falls to work in his father’s plumbing business, which dates back to the 1920s. In 1959 he opened Kaufman & Davis Plumbing & Heating, and in 2020, 61 years later, her brother retired from this same business.

As a 4th-generation Little Falls resident, Kaufman was raised with a blue-collar sensibility in a family of five children, lived on East Monroe Street, and attended St. Mary’s Academy and Little Falls High School. One of her fondest memories of growing up in Little Falls was helping her Dad in his business, answering phones, and stamping brochures for his customers. The legacy of hard work, her father’s business principles, and the generational friendships he forged with his customers inspired her career in business.

Later Years

Kaufman spent 30+ years in Texas as a C-level executive, building technology companies and consulting with early-stage companies. During her tenure, she held positions as VP of Marketing, President, and Chief Operating Officer for private and public companies engaged in publishing, e-signature technology, electronic health records, ERPs, SaaS, School District Information Management, and Student Information Systems. Early in her career, she founded one of the first interactive marketing/advertising agencies in Austin, Texas, and co-founded several technology startups focused on content development, digital publishing, e-commerce, and e-learning technologies.

Results & Accomplishments

Returning Home

After returning home to Little Falls in 2008, Kaufman transitioned her consulting company, Embella, Inc., into a leading grant writing agency securing small and large community grants, including the recent $10 million Downtown Revitalization Grant for Little Falls, three CNYArts annual music festival grants for the City, and eight grants plus twelve private funds securing commitments for approximately $2 million toward the Youth & Family Center’s $2.5M Capital Campaign. Kaufman is the only NYS Registered Professional Fund Raiser #48-57-32 within a 75-mile radius of Little Falls.

My Little Falls

In 2017, Kaufman joined her husband, Dave Warner, in the formation of My Little Falls, now a product of The Creative Outpost, Inc. It’s a local media site covering the City of Little Falls, the Town of Little Falls, Dolgeville, Salisbury, and the surrounding area. Its mission is to generate interest in those communities and connect residents more meaningfully by facilitating deeper conversations about how news and events will shape the area’s future. The print edition is the Mohawk Valley Express, which comes out on the first Friday of each month.

The Creative Outpost

In 2020, Deborah and her husband formed The Creative Outpost, Inc., a non-profit 501c3 organization focused on creative content, film, and media education. It is dedicated to teaching the art and craft of filmmaking and media development and intent on establishing the Mohawk Valley as an international destination for media leadership and production.

Additional accomplishments

In addition to her work experience, Kaufman is an FAA Instrument Rated Pilot, FAA Part 107 Commercial Drone Pilot, a NAUI certified Scuba Diver, a licensed Texas Real Estate Salesperson, and an avid landscape artist. She resides in Little Falls with her husband of 22 years and their very spoiled cat, Sheba.