Deborah Koch: American Red Cross executive director in Miami, Keys

Twenty-seven years ago Deborah Koch started working for a non-profit theater in Miami in what would be her first encounter with non-profits and was an experience that helped her get to know the Miami-Dade community and culture. 

She then moved on and started to work in advertising and marketing in the banking sector, beginning with BankUnited, rebranding the bank from a small local company to a state-wide institution. 

She then spent a decade at Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust, and served as marketing director for JPMorgan Private Bank covering the East Coast of the United States. 

“It’s a really incredible gift to be able to work with teams on their philanthropic goals, on how they want to be remembered.” she said. “It was an incredible career, where I was able to give back even though I was in the corporate world.” 

In 2018, Ms. Koch became president of the Junior League of Miami, an organization of women promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women and improving communities with the help of trained volunteers. She remained in that position until 2019 and continues to be involved with the Junior League. 

“At some point, in the last few years, my heart was starting to move into a more mission-based career choice, and when the Red Cross opportunity came, I literally jumped and was hired pretty quickly, started even faster, and the last three years have just flown by,” Ms. Koch said. 

As the executive director of the Greater Miami and The Keys Chapter of the Red Cross, she is the ambassador of the organization to the community. She works with the board of directors, leads special projects and meets with elected officials, the private sector and nonprofits to make sure the Red Cross mission and assistance gets where it is needed the most. 

Ms. Koch spoke with Miami Today reporter Gabriela Henriquez Stoikow. 

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