Meet Deborah Voltz, 2013 Woman of Distinction

Deborah Voltz has served as dean of UAB’s School of Education since 2011, becoming the first African American dean at UAB. Prior to her appointment, she was an associate professor at the school, has been the director of UAB’s Center for Urban Education and its Urban Education Project.

Voltz has collaborated on books, journal articles and other publications, and she has made presentations at several national conferences. She has spoken about teaching in urban classrooms, special education and learning diversity.

She was given Phi Delta Kappa’s Educator of the Year Award in 2010 and named an Unsung Hero in the Birmingham Times’ Trailblazers for the Next Generation in 2008.

“It is important to me to make a difference as I move through the journey of life. As an educator, you have the opportunity—or really, the responsibility—to make an impact in many young lives. These young people, throughout the course of their lives, go on to impact many, many others. Consequently, the influence of an educator can live on indefinitely,” Voltz says.

Voltz will be honored at the 2013 East-Central Women of Distinction luncheon on Friday, March 8. For more information, go to http://girlscoutsnca.org/wodeastcentral.