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| Affiliation | Republican |
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| Name | Deborah Katz Pueschel |
| Address | 7645 Sentry Oak Circle East
Jacksonville, Florida , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
January 09, 1952
(73 years)
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| Contributor | Wishful Thinking |
| Last Modifed | RBH
Jun 08, 2012 02:28pm |
| Tags |
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| Info | Deborah Katz Pueschel was born on January 9, 1952 in Cheverly, Maryland, the eldest of eleven children. Her father, William Spaulding Katz was a carpenter and union member; her mother, Doris Katherine Beckert, was a civil servant with the FBI, IRS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Her mother left the government to raise her children, but returned when the last child began elementary school. Both parents died unexpectedly and prematurely: her father in 1985 and mother in 1996 while still at the USDA. Deborah feels employment abuses played a role in her death.
An ethic of public service and respect for working class Americans was instilled in Deborah from the moment of her birth and remains firmly ingrained in her character today.
She is married to the Rev. Alec E Pueschel, pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Jacksonville. Rev. Pueschel is a retired Prince George's County police officer, as well as commercial pilot/flight instructor. He was born in 1946 in Meldreth, Cambridgeshire, England, to which he returned in 1994/1995 for a year of study at Cambridge University while pursuing his Master of Divinity Degree.
Deborah is a tenth generation American and a fifth-generation Washingtonian who spent most of her childhood in the shadow of the Capitol building. Her lineage includes many distinguished patriots, among whom are:
Major William Boarman, England, among the first settlers of Southern Maryland in 1640s; within this lineage, two served in the American Army during the Revolutionary War
a great-great grandfather, Brigadier General Joseph Gerhardt, as noted in the Washington newspaper - "A Patriot, a Soldier and a Stalwart Republican Gone", twice delegate for Abraham Lincoln
a great-great grandmother, the model for "Nearing Home" by William Ordway Partridge, famous sculptor and is featured as American collection at the Corcoran Gallery of Art , Washington, D.C.
a great-great uncle, known as "Move-Up Joe" who is featured in the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame with the NY Giants of 1887 -
a great-grandfather born on the 4th of July and named Julius Independent Gerhardt
a Jewish grandfather from South Africa who was granted American citizenship by serving this country in World War I and is buried in Arlington Cemetery
a grandmother who was active in the Women's Industrial Group movement featured with President Calvin Coolidge in January 1925 and a pioneer by being one of the first female employees of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
a grandfather, a renaissance man who sang on the radio, a bullpen catcher for the Washington Senators, and host for the Washington Redskins. Most of all he was a survivor. His career as a stockbroker ended on Black Tuesday, just five months after his marriage to Deborah's grandmother, Katherine. Among his survival jobs, he was a horse trainer and a police officer until he became employed with the General Accounting Office. He was a dedicated civil servant until his untimely death in 1967 at age 60. In World War II he served with United States Coast Guard in Pearl Harbor and as Chief Petty Officer with USCG reserves including training in Jacksonville.
Many of her relatives have served in the armed services from the American Revolution through the War on Terrorist including Vietnam. While she does not have military experience, she has 20 years of military background as an air traffic controller working with military officers, NCOs and operations; - even participating on a Navy flight training mission at NAS Oceana.
The common thread of excellence, prominence, and energetic service to others is woven into the very nature of Deborah. She emulated the "Can Do" principles despite the adversities, learning to overcome through determination and persistence. In the words of President Calvin Coolidge, "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence."
She will quickly distinguish herself in the U.S. Congress serving the people of Florida and the nation.
These are Deborah's words regarding her childhood:
"I grew up in the same neighborhoods as my parent and grandparents, near the Capitol. We lived in a modest two-bedroom bungalow - nine other siblings and me on the lower level and my paternal grandparents upstairs. As a child I attended St James Catholic School in Mt Rainier, Maryland and, since school vouchers didn't exist, I had to work to complete my parochial education at the Immaculate Conception Academy [ICA motto - Intergrity, Charity and Aspiration]. At this same time I also volunteered at a nursing home operated by the Carmelite Sisters.
Throughout these years I was integrated into a world of diverse cultures from the poorest to the most elite. The principles that guide me today were shaped in large part by senior citizens and religious orders and they greatly reinforced the moral instructions of my parents."
Deborah began her Civil Service career in 1970 working for the Prince George's County Police Department, and subsequently spent 26 years with the Federal Aviation Administration. She served as Air Traffic Controller ; a brief period as Communication Specialist with the National Weather Service; and was being screened for a top secret clearance with the Department of State. It was during her service that she was wrongfully terminated by the FAA during the Professional Air Traffic Controller's Organization strike in 1981.
Prior to 1981 Deborah had become an activist and whistleblower on aviation issues regarding federal civil service reform, employment, occupational health and aviation safety. She worked with Congressional Members and staff, and testified before Congress when requested.
In October 1997, she recommended to the House Transportation Infrastructure Committee for the FAA to be transferred from the Department of Transportation to Department of Defense stating.. "due to current dubious affairs. The FAA as with the United States Coast Guard is transferred from the jurisdiction of DOT to DOD during a state of emergency or war. During these unstable times, our country is practically in a state of war with terrorism. So rightfully, the air traffic control system should be under the jurisdiction of DOD."
In July 2002, she provided two congressional statements for the Aviation Subcommittee, whereby she revealed continuing costly FAA gross mismanagement and her recommendations on air traffic control systems.
When necessary, she sought judicial remedy. Katz v. Dole, 709 F2d 251 (6/83), the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, is a landmark legitimate sexual harassment, received national media attention, and is well known among legal circles for setting precedents and has been featured, discussed and documented in numerous publications, law reviews and the Supreme Court.
She has refused to accept the status quo and not being daunted - she continued speaking out.. She is a woman of integrity and principle - and has put her career on the line as whistleblower on aviation safety and civil service inequities. She has been featured on television and radio shows.
Deborah's activism included organizing "Walking for Safety" which informed the public about the air traffic control manpower shortage and procedures that were very marginal as the level of experience and training had been greatly compromises by the massive firings in 1981 and FAA mismanagement and policies.
She organized "Signatures of Solidarity - SOS" a petition circulated to union leaders of the AFL-CIO. The drive collected nearly 100,000 signatures nationwide, as well as 14 AFL-CIO Union President's endorsements. The SOS was organized labor's request that senior President Bush permit the fired air traffic controllers to reapply for their former positions from which they supposedly were banned for life. (It was subsequently discovered that President Reagan never issued a life-time ban.) Those controllers were thus illegally blacklisted by the FAA since 1984. Some controllers have since been rehired; however, most were blacklisted.
In 1990, during SOS petition drive and against an AFL-CIO senior official advice - she lobbied on conviction, she requested the AFL-CIO Executive Board not to endorse a pro-choice position. AFL-CIO honored her request.
Deborah and her husband have traveled extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Southern Africa, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and Japan which has been a source of enjoyment as well as enlightenment of understanding different cultures and viewpoints on America and internationalism.
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