New DON Deputy Manager Starts With a Full Plate

District 4 DON Deputy Manager, Eboni Deberry.

Last month we introduced Caprice Johnson, District 4 Manager in the Department of Neighborhoods. This month it’s Eboni Deberry’s turn to take the spotlight. Eboni has only been Deputy Manager for District 4 since December, but she has hit the ground running. She takes a hands-on approach to her primary mission - helping to eliminate blight in our district. Not content to wait for complaints to come in, two or three days a week Eboni drives through neighborhoods in District 4, looking for pockets of blight and neglect so that she can report them to the appropriate city departments.

“I want to bridge the gap between neighborhoods,” she says. Some are areas that have strong community organizations and involved residents, while others need lots of attention.

Eboni knows the neighborhoods of District 4 well, having grown up here. She attended Dominican High School and Grosse Pointe South before going to Grambling State University in Louisiana. She later earned a Master’s Degree in Business Management from Walsh College.

Of course this is a job that requires an ability to work with all kinds of people, and Eboni’s work history demonstrates she has plenty of “people skills.” She spent almost a decade as a community liaison and new-hires trainer for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services before moving to the Horatio Williams Youth Foundation to serve as its Community Director. In that position Eboni was responsible for running summer camps, tutoring programs, special events, and projects for seniors. She says one of the highlights during her tenure there was organizing the memorial service for Aretha Franklin at Chene Park in 2018.

Eboni says the best part of her new job is “being the point of contact for residents”….”I have a heart for people,” she says. Her biggest challenge? “Not being able to personally take care of a problem myself…If somebody calls about their trash not being picked up, I can’t go pick it up myself”….”I’m looking forward to Motor City Makeover when I can get my hands dirty,” she says with a laugh.

When she’s not fighting blight, Eboni enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, 11 and 1. She also likes to travel. “My dream vacation is going to Santorini Island in Greece.” In the meantime she’s happy to chill out and bask in the Florida sun from time to time.

“Faith plays a major role in my life,” Eboni adds. She is a member of Second Ebeneezer Church, where she sings on their praise team.