The travel and tourism industry is one of Arizona’s most significant economic drivers, bringing millions of visitors to the state annually. According to Kiva Couchon, public information officer for the Arizona Office of Tourism, in 2012 more than 38 million global visitors experienced Arizona as a travel destination, spending $19.3 billion throughout the state. This equates to nearly $53 million being injected to our state’s economy each and every day.
At the very hub of travel and tourism is Deborah Ostreicher, who is the deputy aviation director of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Included in her duties are communications and media relationships; customer service; community outreach and events; air services development; and public speaking around the world. In her 18 years with the airport, she has developed and implemented a comprehensive marketing program to encourage new airlines and additional flights to Sky Harbor, created an airport TV show that she also hosts, and organized the extensive array of 450 volunteers and professional service providers into the group that helps the airport earn the title “America’s Friendliest Airport.” In addition, Deb is executive board member of the Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association and incoming chair of the Tempe Convention and Visitors Bureau.
She’s well aware of the economic impact of tourism, but also enjoys just showing off Arizona!
“I love everything this state has to offer and have made it a priority to see as much of it as I can,” Deb says with a smile.”My family and I enjoy beautiful hikes around town most of the winter. The Phoenix Mountain Preserve (in northeast Phoenix) is a wonderland for hiking and picnicking, and it’s always fun to try a new area.” Acknowledging that summer in the Valley is a bit warm for hiking, Deb says, “We find ourselves heading north or south in the summer to hike in cooler temperatures. Last summer I was fascinated by the caves in Flagstaff and how cool they were. It was hot outside and yet I needed a jacket in the caves!”
And it’s not just the hiking that Deb enjoys. “Whatever sporty activity we embark on during the day, we know there’s a wonderful meal at the other end. There are so many individual chefs with boutique restaurants throughout the state, it’s a joy finding them.” Her enthusiasm for her adopted state rings through.
Deb is originally from the Washington, D.C., area. “Everybody in Potomac was Jewish,” she says, “or at least it seemed that way to me. I ‘lived’ at the JCC.” With an interest in the performing arts, Deb started playing piano, dancing and acting around age 5. She participated in musical theater in college and is still an actress around the Valley today. Deb spent her junior year abroad at Hebrew University and lived an additional year in Israel after graduating from the University of Maryland. She returned to the D.C. area and earned her MBA in international business and marketing from American University. With that degree in hand, Deb began her career, which included such assignments as a year in London as a marketing manager for Prince Charles’ nonprofit and several years in Budapest as director of marketing for Microage Computer Centers in central Europe. She came back to the States in 1995 and came on board with Sky Harbor the following year.
About that same time, Deb met her now-husband Jeff Ostreicher, a personal injury attorney in downtown Phoenix. “He was moving into an apartment in my building. There was a knock on my door; it was his 6-year-old daughter. She and I became friends first, bonding over ‘girl things,’” she remembers fondly. The friendship expanded to include Jeff ’s 12-year-old son and Jeff himself. They married shortly after and Deb easily integrated into the family. Jeff has four children, now ages 25-41, and grandchildren who attend Temple Solel in Paradise Valley.
Deb and Jeff are actively involved in New Pathways for Youth, a nonprofit organization whose mission is “Making possible new futures for our children and youth through mentoring and value-driven programs.” They each have mentored at-risk youth to help them find meaningful and fulfilling lives. Marle, a young native-American woman, came into Deb’s life at age 7; she is now graduating from Arizona State University and embarking on her own career. “She’s the first in her family to graduate from college and is going to Japan to teach English!” Deb kvells. Jeff is currently mentoring Sergio, a boy who is thriving with the new relationship in his life.
In 2012 Deb was honored with the ATHENA Award from the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, recognizing her “excellence in business and leadership, exemplary community service and support and mentorship of other women.” Deb sits on nearly every tourism board in the Valley and continues a relationship with Temple Solel. Last fall she was the emcee at the Valley’s first Jewish Music Festival. When she wasn’t on stage introducing musical acts, she was at her booth selling handmade jewelry she learned to make while living in Israel.
While Deb’s life has taken her around the world, she’s very content living in the Valley and being able to tout the wonderful attributes Arizona has for residents and visitors alike. She could borrow a line from The Wizard of Oz and sincerely state, “There’s no place like home!”
