President and Executive Director

For Deborah (Debbie) L. Coltin, of Peabody, Lappin Foundation has been part of her life since 1973, when as a teen she participated in “Let’s Go Israel” (now Y2I-Youth to Israel Adventure). The experience immensely impacted her Jewish identity and solidified her connection to Israel, ultimately influencing her career path in Jewish communal service. Debbie joined the Foundation’s professional team in 1997 and has been serving as Executive Director for more than 20 years. She holds a Master of Education and a Master of Jewish Studies and a Leadership Certificate in Combating Antisemitism from Spertus Institute. Debbie’s continuing education includes coaching, teen mental health first aid, and teaching the Holocaust. She is an award-winning educator, recognized nationally for creativity and passion in her field. In May 2023 Debbie was presented the Sonia Schreiber Weitz Upstander Award by Salem State University’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies for her work in Holocaust and antisemitism education.

Community service is important to Debbie. She is an active member of the Board of Directors of Holocaust Legacy Foundation and is involved with its building of a new Holocaust Museum in Boston. Debbie is a volunteer with Lasagna Love, and she is known for her warm and cozy fleece blankets, which she knots with love, offering comfort to children at homeless shelters and to those who are ill.

Debbie is most proud of the ways Lappin Foundation successfully reaches and engages thousands of individuals of all ages by offering hundreds of Jewish programs throughout the year. She is grateful for the opportunity her mentor Robert Israel Lappin z”l gave her decades ago to use her creative talents in service to the Jewish People. “Lappin Foundation is a valuable resource for the community,” she said. It is a blessing to work at an organization that truly makes a profound difference in the lives of young Jewish people and Jewish and interfaith families.”