Better Know a Member – Debra Des Vignes

Describe your profession and what is your favorite part of it?
I’m the VP of Marketing and Communications for the Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation (HVAF). We help homeless veterans through transitional housing, case management and basic needs.

I’m responsible for gaining media coverage through built relationships with local, regional and national reporters as well as managing our internal communications through company announcements and social media. I enjoy being able to tell the stories of our homeless veterans, many who are just returning home from recent wars, and whose lives are forever changed because of our program. On average, 80% of our veterans who go through our program find employment and permanent housing.

What do you like to do when you are not working?
When I am not working, I spend time with family. Our son is almost 4 years old so he keeps me busy with swim lessons, French class, and cupcake making.

What is the most satisfying benefit you get from being a Rotarian?
I enjoy networking and getting to know other members. The volunteer opportunities is also a benefit. If you haven’t signed up for Indy Do Day, please DO!

Tell us about your family.
I’m married to my husband, Andrew, and we have a three-and-a-half-year old son, Simon. We also have one dog, Leo.

Share one thing people do not know about you.
I was an extra in the movie HEAT starring Robert De Niro but I didn’t make final cut. I also worked for Bosley Hair Transplant Clinic in Beverly Hills and our client list included some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Share some “words to live by,” or your favorite quote.
“I’m not telling you to make the world better, because I don’t think that progress is necessarily part of the package,” she said. “I’m just telling you to live in it. Not just to endure it, not just to suffer it, not just to pass through it, but to live in it. To look at it. To try to get the picture. To live recklessly. To take chances. To make your own work and take pride in it… – Joan Didion

What would you be doing if you were not in your present profession, today?
I would be an investigator assigned to cold cases or a homicide detective.

Outside of Rotary, please share other interesting civic or community involvement of which you are a part.
I sit on the Advisory Board for the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library and host ‘Spotlight Indianapolis’ a radio show on Emmis Communications and I’m a contributing writer for Little Indiana.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?
In ten years, I would have more countries checked off in my quest to travel the world.