Deborah Vance-Bowie

Deborah Vance (born February 27, 1970 in Miami, Florida) is Chief of Staff for Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford.

After initially studying mortuary science, Vance earned her bachelor of arts in mass communication from Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1992. She studied at Duke University as a Charles Dana Fellow during her senior year, and then entered the field of journalism as a reporter for the Birmingham Post-Herald, covering the city hall beat. She later became a reporter, producer and account executive at ABC 33/40 and CBS 42 as well as at an ABC affiliate in Chicago, Illinois.

In 1994 Vance's sister was killed in a triple homicide. Her resulting re-examination of her goals led her to seek a position where she could make a more positive change in her community. She worked as Senior Public Information Officer for the Birmingham City Council from 2001 to 2003, leaving to accept the position of Vice President of Community Development for the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce. She filled the vacancy left by the retirement of Yvonne Baskin on January 5, 2004.

Drawing on her television experience, Vance served as on-air host for the first segments produced in 2006 for CityVision, which airs information about city attractions on a dedicated channel in area hotels.

Vance worked as V and also served on the 16th Street Baptist Church Foundation, the Leading Edge Institute, the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham, the Miss SWAC Pageant and Martin Luther King Unity Breakfast boards, and on the McWane Pipe Community Advisory Panel.

In October 2007 Vance accepted Larry Langford's invitation to serve as his chief of staff.

References

• "Vance takes a VP spot at Chamber." (December 23, 2003) Birmingham Business Journal.
• Mahoney, Ryan (February 20, 2004) "Chamber hires new VP from ADO." Birmingham Business Journal.
• "Deborah A. Vance" (July 14, 2006) Birmingham Business Journal.
• "Vance to leave chamber position to work with Langford." (October 15, 2007) Birmingham News.