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. 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. 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. 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.
