Beloved friend and colleague. Human trafficking survivor advocate, leader, and expert.
“I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there is no path, and I will leave a trail.” —Muriel Strode
05/18/22 UPDATES
Friends of Deborah launched a Go Fund Me to help cover memorial costs and provide some travel expenses for her survivor community. It would be great if you could help us share this link: https://gofund.me/505f5ef6
05/16/22 UPDATES
The precious and powerful Deborah Pembook passed away on April 27th from an unexpected pulmonary embolism. Her husband was with her and held her while she passed.
Her wish was to transition in a way that left the smallest carbon footprint. A green burial ceremony has been planned for Saturday, May 28th near Half Moon Bay. Family, friends and the survivor community are invited.
If you’re not able to make it, you’ll be able to visit her at the cemetery anytime and/or you can send a biodegradable memento to be buried with her or placed on top of her resting place. For more details, email Jess Torres at: standsupfightsback@gmail.com
Everyone will be invited to her Celebration of Life, which will likely happen at the end of the summer or early fall. I’ll keep posting updates on this page. I’m also adding more details to the post below as I learn more.
Deborah was incredibly inquisitive and so she knew a lot about a lot of different stuff. Whenever we needed to learn something, we always checked with Deborah first because it was likely she was already well versed on the subject. She also had an innate wisdom that made her the go to person at Rising. Before a big decision or plan was carried out, you’d want to run it by Deborah first. She just might have a take on it that you hadn’t considered.
Deborah was a visionary. She could see the place in between the way the world is now and the one we want to create. She said, “If we want to end human trafficking, those with lived experience of trafficking need to be leading at every level.”
I first had the privilege and honor to meet Deborah on Monday July 14, 2014 – a day I’ll cherish forever. She had called me about a coalition that I was hoping to launch to end human trafficking. She was interested in joining it. We met outside the River Cafe, and I still remember which table. She shared her lived experience as a trafficking survivor, and her vision for the work that needed to be done. I said I thought she should lead the coalition. She said leading a coalition had always been her dream.
In 2014, The Coalition to End Human Trafficking in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties became one of the only survivor-led coalitions in the nation. As the Director of our local coalition, Deborah was a powerful force for good. She spearheaded regional conferences and webinars about human trafficking in our area, and she brought 30 survivor leaders to our community to speak at coalition events. She also conducted monthly collaborative meetings with more than 100 local organizations, agencies, survivors, and stakeholders, and with the help of a local funder launched the Survivor’s Needs Fund.
Then in early 2021, one of my dreams came true. Deborah joined the team at Rising as the Rising Expert Program Director. In this capacity, she led a team of survivor-entrepreneurs who use their lived experience to build communities that are resilient to human trafficking. She designed a professional development program to help equip survivors with the skills needed to become social impact entrepreneurs. Her team led Safe and Sound Human Trafficking Prevention Workshops in schools throughout the Central Coast of California. And in late 2021, the Center to Combat Human Trafficking at United Way Worldwide worked with Deborah to create the Rising United Leadership Program.
My husband has a saying about Deborah. He says she makes you feel like you’re walking backwards. In other words, it just wasn’t possible to keep up with her. In addition to the accomplishments I’ve already listed, Deborah served on literally hundreds of committees and panels, gave keynote presentations, and conducted trainings all over the U.S. She trained army personnel, police departments, corrections officers, educators, direct service providers, youth, community groups, and most recently corporate employees about human trafficking. She also served two terms on the California Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Action Team Advisory Board, was the Consultant Chair for the National Survivor Network, and the Human Trafficking Outreach Manager for the Monterey County Rape Crisis Center (MCRCC).
I reached out to Lauren, the Executive Director of MCRCC to learn more about Deborah’s work there. She shared that Deborah responded to survivors of sexual assault, human trafficking, and child abuse in the immediate aftermath of trauma. Her advocacy for MCRCC clients took her from meetings on high school campuses to phone calls with the head of ethics and compliance at Silicon Valley tech corporations. Lauren said there was no limit to Deborah’s ability to advocate for clients and she never gave up.
Deborah’s husband shared with me that some of Deborah’s most cherished time at MCRCC was working with survivors in prisons. I asked Lauren about that and she said that Deborah spearheaded both human trafficking outreach and the development of specific advocacy for incarcerated surivors. She would often meet with survivors in prison, jail, and juvenile hall and have to think super creatively about how to navigate advocacy within the correctional system. She succeeded every time and was able to move seemingly impossible obstacles for survivors with her kindness and tenacity.
Deborah often educated audiences about the harms caused by misinformation, sensationalism, and over-hyped conspiracy theories regarding human trafficking. She said that perhaps one of the most dangerous myths of all is that survivors of human trafficking have no voice. She said, “This voice. This survivor’s voice has exponential potential to create change. When we don’t speak for but listen to survivors, our approach is rooted in accuracy, and healing, and connectedness, and transformation.”
She went on to say, “Each of us has our own authentic voice. I have this voice. And you have this voice. Every person, no matter what they have been through, no matter what they are going through, has a truth deep inside them that is worthy and whole and unbreakable. Our voice is precious and powerful.”
“The world needs all of our voices.”
Deborah was deeply loved and respected by the survivor community. Within hours of her passing, the community was meeting online to grieve and celebrate her life. An in-person celebration of life is currently being planned, and there is a Go Fund Me coming to help with expenses. Stay tuned here for dates and details.
Deborah loved her sweetheart of a husband, and her cats, books, libraries, LinkedIn Learning, kombucha, and sunflowers.
Dearest Deborah, from all of us at Rising, we promise to keep your precious and powerful voice alive in all our work and in our lives forever.
We love you,
Carmel Jud
Rising Worldwide | Founder/Executive Director
May 5th, 2022
Deborah’s bravery inspired me, and her commitment to helping people rise and thrive is why I’m proud to be part of the Rising community today.
May her memory be for a blessing.
As a Rising staff member, the fact that Deborah chose to be a part of our team, over all of the other opportunities she had, means so much. It means that she believed in our mission. Deborah’s passing has left a hole in our hearts and our work, but she taught us so much during her short time on this earth, and we are better people for knowing her.
It was an honor to work with Deborah. She brought insight and compassion to every conversation, and always seemed to have an answer to everything! I especially appreciated her love of learning and curiosity to explore all aspects of life. Her light and love continue to shine and inspire.
Deborah was kind, approachable and brave. She was generous in sharing her knowledge with others. I’m grateful to have known her.
As a board member of Monterey County Rape Crisis Center, it was my honor to meet and talk with Deborah. While we were so sad to see her leave us, we knew there was no better place for her than with Rising, working on her mission. She will be sorely missed in all quarters.
Deborah was truly inspirational. She had a warm heart, kind spirit and unquenchable desire to help right the wrongs of this world. Her loss is devastating. We are so lucky to have known her and are now challenged to carry her important work forward.
Deborah was reshaping how we think about leadership and the world we all want to live in. Her voice will definitely resonate for years to come – so many of us will be sure of it. Her contributions and value to Rising was immense, and for that I’m grateful.
This is my first experience of Deborah that I am aware of, and I am deeply touched to learn a tiny bit of her story and the beautiful impact she has made on Rising Worldwide and the world. May the impact she made in bringing awareness to human trafficking become a swell of awareness that ends human trafficking in our lifetime.
A bright guiding light has moved on to another realm but has left us all with the wisdom of her profound experiences.
I am so very sorry for your loss. She sounded like she had found her forever job!
Much love to all the Staff at Rising.
Mary Goff
My husband John and I are heartbroken hearing this news. We first met Deborah in 1997 when we recruited her to be a graphics software instructor at a computer school we were in the process of opening in Santa Cruz. We remained friends with her even after we sold the school in 2007. We loved everything about her; her intelligence, her laugh, her big heart, her compassion, her love of reading, her skill of writing but above all else we loved her strength to overcome what she had endured as a victim of trafficking. She didn’t let that horrific part of her life dissuade her from seeing the good in people. She was a fighter for herself and all those whose lives had been touched by trafficking. We are humbled and honored to have known her and to call her friend.
I knew Deborah through her membership and work at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Santa Cruz. Before she found her dream job and true freedom in her traffickers death she was a very involved and cherished member of the local UU community that allows and encourages everyone to find their own spiritual path. Erica
I am so very sorry to hear of Deborah’s passing. I connected with Rising International and Deborah many years ago (7?) as an educator at the high school and community college level. She helped to facilitate critically important group presentations to my students about human trafficking. It was clear to me she was a huge supporter of her staff and a lovely person to work with. My love and support go out to the organization and all who love her
My heart is broken to hear about the loss of this wonderful, courageous woman of strength and vision. I have known Deborah over some five years and she has always taken time to guide me in my commitment to work with so many of you in educating against human trafficking. She has been with us in at least 12 conferences throughout our area: catholic parishes, with hundreds of our youth, in a retreat for Catholic Sisters who are also working against trafficking. I consider her to be my friend and mentor. When I had to communicate over a difficult trafficking situation on Thanksgiving Day, she graciously listened and guided me with how we could respond. My deepest prayers ad blessings are with her friends and family.
Sister Gloria I. Loya, PBVM
Diocese of Monterey
Deborah was one of a kind. Everything that has been said already rings so true. I looked up to her and learned so much from her as her colleague at MCRCC for about five years. She radiated kindness and being present in the moment. Some people come into your life and leave a very special, lasting impression. That was Deborah. The world has lost an unforgettable human. I’m not sure where souls go after we die, but if there is a Heaven, it has definitely gained an angel.
<3
So sorry to hear this news! I did not know Deborah personally, and I am sure she touched many people’s lives. Sending love and light and hugs to all!
Deb was an amazing individual, she wanted to make a difference in the world. I hope she knew she had already made it better by fighting for all of us. I was lucky entro have known her and collaborated with her in the anti-trafficking movement.
i am truly shocked , upset, and saddened to hear of Deborah’s passing. She was a light in a great darkness. I count myself lucky to have known her. I pray for her good spirits journey and healing for her loved ones. blessed be Deborah.
I’m still in shock! Deborah and Brewster were my creative writing students at Cabrillo College about 20 years ago, and Deborah was writing her survivor story in that class. We exchanged stories and went on to become longstanding friends. I watched her work so hard to gain health, happiness, and freedom from her past. As soon as she unlocked mindfulness as a tool, she was teaching it to others, and she ultimately chose activism with other survivors over pure narrative. She was ALWAYS committed to a life of service. She was brilliant. I’m so glad she got to marry Brewster before the pandemic, and I got to attend their wedding with my children. She participated in my US Civics Trivia Night to raise funds for my citizenship petition just a couple of months ago. She even turned that into an opportunity to teach us from her wealth of knowledge about our nation’s history. She was deeply caring about every social injustice. . . recently starting to learn Ukrainian in solidarity. In my new life post-divorce, I’d planned to join her anti-trafficking efforts, and I hope to still do that. What a bright light to live up to. May she light our paths always.
As for a memorial, she shared that she realized the importance of ritualizing our grief through common ceremony after Brewster’s father died during COVID and they could not attend a funeral. I went through a similar bereavement losing my mother last year. Deborah and I spoke about the importance of community grief. I am so appreciative of those who are planning both a meaningful burial and memorial for our Deborah.
I met Deborah when we were both recruited to be on the Board of Insight Santa Cruz. Yes she was a wiz at just about everything! I was thinking of her last week. Perhaps she was whispering in my ear. I felt the urge to reconnect with her. Now with this news of her sudden passing I am so sorry we lost her in the flesh! She shared her personal story with me and started working for others in her situation and from my position it seemed that she just took off like a rocket!
I agree with previous writers that having a way to mourn her is important and I hope that I can attend her burial and memorial. May we all find our blessing in having known her and bring our blessings forward for the good of all beings.
You wrote a beautiful tribute, Carmel. And yesterday’s virtual remembrance was just as Deborah would have wanted it to be. As Brewster said, “her superpower was kindness” and I always thought that about her during our shared time at MCRCC. She was also full of wisdom and so generous in sharing it and teaching others. She was the first to step up and help whatever the situation. While she struggled with health issues, she never allowed them to bring her down or get in the way of her passionate advocacy for social justice and for survivors. She really was an exceptional person; loved and admired as a leader and a force for good. She will be remembered and missed by the many people whose lives she touched.
This is devastating news. I’m so sorry to hear of Deborah’s passing. She was instrumental in helping me build our QuickBooks textbooks and develop great content at The Sleeter Group. As a 9-year employee, she was truly one of the best. Our hearts go out to Brewster and all friends of Deborah.