About this speaker
Deborah Zysman has served as Executive Director of Hawaii Children’s Action Network (HCAN) since 2012, and has 20 years of experience in non-profit management. HCAN is the state’s only non-profit committed solely to advocating for children, and our vision is that all children in Hawaii are safe, healthy and ready to learn. To achieve this, HCAN conducts analysis, public education, advocacy and coalition building on a wide range of child and family issues and proudly works to amplify the voices of community experts and families.
Deborah has a master’s degree in public health and is considered an expert in our state on public policy, advocacy, nonprofit management and organizational change.
She is a Weinberg Fellow, winner of the 2019 Ho'okle Non-profit Leadership Award, 2017 AIM for Excellence in Nonprofit Management award, and one of Hawai‘i’s “Forty Under 40” by Pacific Business News. Deborah serves on the boards of AlohaCare and Temple Emanu-El, and is an active volunteer with Scout Troop 33 (Manoa), and the Citizen Forester program. She is the past board President of both Hawaii Public Health Association and Junior League of Honolulu.
In her spare time, she is an avid reader and hiker, and occasionally gets to the beach with her husband and two children.
