Staff Profile: Deborah Zack

For hundreds of members of the Arizona Technology Council, Deborah Zack is the Council.

As senior director of membership services, Deborah Zack has been the one constant in the lives of many members. Whether it’s offering basic information about joining the group or responding to inquiries about how a company can become more involved in the Council, Zack is the go-to person. “I like connecting to the members and solving their problems,” she says.

That translates into a lot of connections since she joined the Council staff in January 2007. While acknowledging the Council has churn like any group, she estimates she’s been the contact for about 100 members that join each year.

With ties to so many, it’s no surprise that Zack considers “member appreciation” the most important part of her job. For example, when members reach the three-month mark before their renewal, she contacts them to check how they are doing, ask what she can do for them and offer to meet in person for a detailed update. “I’ve seen over the last couple of years that people want to do face-to-face meeting,” she says.

Zack estimates she contacts 30 to 40 members monthly in this process. “I probably have 10 or 12 of them now wanting to meet with me, when before it used to be three or four,” she says. “And the good thing is, I can solve problems and basically guarantee a better retention by doing this.”

Previous roles for Zack included serving as public access manager at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, where she helped increase its brand in the community through marketing initiatives and seminars. She also was a principal and designer of a line of children’s clothes, as well as a buyer for Goldwater’s department stores.