Deborah Coates
May 13, 2015
Deborah Coates
Award: HONORING WOMEN IN NEW YORK
Year: 2015
Deborah Coates began her volunteer work in East Meadow with the Meadowbrook Parent Teachers Association (PTA) in 1980, serving tirelessly as president, and chairing many committees at Meadowbrook and Clarke Parent Teacher Student Association. From 1999 to 2001, Ms. Coates was president of PTA Council, and she has earned lifetime memberships to both the New York State and the National PTA.
Ms. Coates was elected to the East Meadow Board of Education in 2002, where she served for six years. She was Vice President for one year and President for three years. In 2008, Ms. Coates was elected to the Nassau BOCES Board of Education and was appointed District Clerk in 2014. She currently serves on the Policy Committee and is a liaison to the Nassau BOCES Educational Foundation.
Since 2008, Ms. Coates has been a member of the board of directors for the Nassau Suffolk School Boards Association and serves on the legislation and nominating committees. She is immediate past president of Reform Education Financial Inequities Today (R.E.F.I.T.) and continues to serve on the board of directors. In 2014, she received the New York State School Boards Association Board of Mastery Award.
A member of the East Meadow Kiwanis Club for 10 years, Ms. Coates also co-chairs two fundraising committees – golf and the pancake breakfast. She volunteers at food drives, community Pride Day and cooks dinner for families at the Ronald McDonald House in Glen Oaks. Ms. Coates is also a civic member of the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce and has volunteered for more than 20 years with CASA and the Nassau County Jail Advisory Committee. For her unwavering service to her community, Ms. Coates has received the Pathfinder Award from the Town of Hempstead and multiple honors from Kiwanis, including Kiwanian of the Year in 2012.
Ms. Coates has been a resident of Town of Westbury, East Meadow School District, since 1978. She and her husband, Michael, raised four sons there and they now have three beautiful daughters-in-law and four precious grandchildren.
