Upon moving into to Indianapolis, Deirdre enrolled her oldest son in MSDWT Schools and immediately became involved, as a parent, by joining the Nora PTO. By the time he was in 2nd grade, she was on the PTO board, where she eventually served two terms as President. When her son moved on to middle school, she joined the Washington Township Schools Foundation Board. Beyond the PTO and Foundation activities and involvement, she has served on committees that assisted with IB authorization and curriculum reviews, as well as attended multiple referenda stakeholder meetings. Fun fact – she and her husband are featured in both the 2016 and 2020 referenda videos.
Deirdre was born and raised in South Jamaica, Queens, in New York City, and has a huge extended family of veterans, active-duty military and educators. She also married into a family of educators. Her parents emphasized the importance of education, hard work, compassion, integrity and respect for others.
Deirdre currently holds a B.S. in Biology Pre-Med with a minor in Chemistry from Xavier University of Louisiana (HBCU), an M.P.H. with a concentration in Maternal & Child Health from University of Alabama at Birmingham, and an MBA with a concentration in Healthcare Management from Southern New Hampshire University. She is currently pursuing her DBA, also with a Healthcare Management Concentration. She is employed as the Community Education and Outreach Manager for the Indiana Poison Center. Professional affiliations include: the Public Education Committee (for the American Association of Poison Control Centers), also known as the PEC, for which she has served on the Steering Committee twice, including serving as Steering Committee Chair, as well as chair of the Membership Committee and Nominations & Elections Committee; Midwest Injury Prevention Alliance (MIPA); and the Indiana Injury Prevention Advisory Council (IPAC). Deirdre is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, where she chaired the Dr Betty Shabazz Delta Academy program for middle school girls (2019 – 2022) and Jack and Jill of America, where she currently serves as her chapter Vice President.
Deirdre is married to Gershom, who works in Accounting and Finance and has two sons, Nicholas, a 2020 North Central High School Graduate (by way of Nora and Northview) and Noah, NCHS c/o 2028. She also has a “bonus” daughter, Miashia, who lives in TX with her husband and three children.
