In the final days of 2019, as headlines began to shift and uncertainty crept into daily life, Rebecca Kaufman played perhaps one of the most important roles in all of Broome County. Information was changing by the hour, her phone never stopped ringing, and press conferences became routine. Behind the scenes, this 2005 grad lead a team of public servants working relentlessly to prepare a community for what was coming.
“I will never forget the end of 2019 as we started to see the pandemic closing in on our community. There had been cases of COVID-19 in New York City, and we knew it was inevitable it would be coming to Broome. We were meeting with the Governor’s office, local elected officials, hospitals and schools to really prepare for the virus to arrive. We knew very little about the virus at that time. Information was moving and changing quickly,” said Kaufman.
Kaufman was serving as the Broome County Public Health Director when COVID-19 first arrived - a role that placed her at the center of one of the most challenging public health crises of a generation. Alongside country leaders, hospitals, schools, and state officials, she helped guide the county's response, from testing, to vaccination, often while speaking directly to the public through daily media briefings.
"Although a crazy time, it was what always attracted me to public health. Every day was different, we learned something new, and were able to pass on information to educate and protect the community that I love," said Kaufman.
She continued, "It was a lot of work and hours away from my young family, but I felt part of a great team. I knew I was serving my community and giving back in a way I hadn’t been able to before.”
That commitment to service began years earlier in the halls of Maine-Endwell, where community and connection defined her high school experience.
“My favorite memory of Maine Endwell was homecoming. The sense of community felt on that day from elementary school right through high school cannot be replicated. In the younger grades, it’s participating in the parade and going to the football game, and for the older grades, the pep rally and homecoming dance. Maine- Endwell has a sense of community and school spirit that is second to none,” said Kaufman.
Following graduation, Kaufman's academic path took her to SUNY Cortland, where she studied Health Education, initially planning to become a Health Teacher. After just a few semesters, and her first real education course where she learned the task of lesson planning, she quickly changed her major.
“I didn’t lose my love of health though; I just changed my major to Health Science. I knew I would need a graduate degree, so I stayed there and received a Masters of Science in Community Health,” said Kaufman.
That was where it all began.
After graduating, this 2005 grad spent nine months with Lourdes Youth Services, educating on substance use prevention in schools. During that time, she continued taking civil service exams, as her Dad had worked for the state, and she became interested in a position with the county.
After many exams, she got her first call from Tioga County Government. They were hiring a Public Health Educator, a role she’d take over in May of 2011.
"As soon as I got there, I knew I loved public health," Kaufman said of her early work in Tioga County. "Being in Tioga in a smaller department really allowed me to learn all the programs in the department."
She’s worked at local health departments ever since.
In 2017, when Jason Garner was first elected as Broome County Executive, he opened up and posted all of the Department Head positions. Kaufman knew it was an opportunity for her career to grow, within her hometown, something that doesn’t happen often. She applied, and in January of 2017, became the leader of the Broome County Health Department.
“We had a lot of priorities at time including bringing the community together to respond to the opioid epidemic. Those first few years I was able to learn more about county government and meet with community leaders. We brought in additional grant funds and revitalized the opioid overdose response collation. I did not know at the time but many of those partnerships prepared us for what was to come next, the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Kaufman.
Her leadership during that time did not go unnoticed. In 2021, Kaufman received both the New York State Woman of Distinction Award for the 52nd Senate District, and the New York State Legislative Women's Caucus Essential Worker COVID Frontline Worker Recognition - honors she says she will always be proud of.
Today, Kaufman continues her public health mission as part of Wake County, North Carolina, serving a community of more than 1.2 million residents.
"Every day is exciting and I learn something new. This is an incredible honor for me as I truly love the work I do and am blessed to have a career that does not feel ling work because I enjoy each day," said Kaufman.
She continued, "In all three of the local health departments I have worked in, you find dedicated staff of public servants willing to give to their community. I love Wake as I can try new and innovative ways to serve our community. I have a seven-hundred person team. Every day we are in the community doing restaurant, well and septic inspections, home visiting for new moms and babies, testing for STDs and HIV and seeing around 76,000 visits in our health clinics each year. Every day is exciting, and I learn something new.”
Looking back, Kaufman credits Maine-Endwell for giving her the confidence and foundation to pursue ambitious goals.
“Maine Endwell gave me a great start. I was not always the strongest student or an athlete, but I always felt the teachers and staff were invested in my success. Having others invest in you makes it easier to work hard and expect success. I took that work ethic with me to college and beyond. I have never been a competitive person with others but always had ambitious goals for myself. If you believe you can achieve it, you can, and I do believe Maine Endwell gave me the roots in that success,” said Kaufman.
A special moment for Kaufman came just a few months back, as her class of 2005 reunited for their 20th class reunion.
“The reunion was a lot of fun. We took a high school tour, went to the varsity football game and then had the reunion in the evening. Everyone looked great and it was exciting to hear what they had been doing. My first taste of leadership came my senior year when I ran for class president solely because I wanted to plan the prom. To my surprise I was elected. Thankfully I have a good group of alumni from the class of 2005 who have helped plan the reunions. I enjoy thinking back at the things we did, fun we had and really how far everyone has come. I have been fortunate that there are a group of Maine Endwell alumni who have also found a new home in Raleigh, and we get together often,” said Kaufman.
From planning prom to leading emergency operations centers for hundreds of thousands, Rebecca Kaufman's journey reflects a lifetime of commitment to community - a value rooted early at Maine-Endwell and carried forward through service when it mattered most.