Background
Sofield was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and was adopted, as a baby, by Norman and Mary Sofield, an American couple working for the United States Government while living in Khartoum, Sudan.
Sofield was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and was adopted, as a baby, by Norman and Mary Sofield, an American couple working for the United States Government while living in Khartoum, Sudan.
She is the past Chair and current Commissioner of Public Works for the Greenville Water System and is the first woman to hold this position since the CPW"s inception in 1918. She is on the faculty and a past president of the Women's Campaign School at Yale University and a visiting lecturer at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Sofield also works with the International Republican Institute and Women's Democracy Network of Washington, District of Columbia, teaching Communications Training for Civil Society around the world and she served as a trainer for The Center for Liberty in the Middle East.
Since 2013, Sofield has been the speaker coach for TEDxGreenville, an independently organized TED event.
Leadership South Carolina—Legacy of Leadership Award. Southeastern Institute for Women in Politics—Leading Women Award. State of South Carolina’s highest honor—the Order of the Palmetto. The Association for Women in Communications—Communicator of the Year. Toastmasters District 58—Communication and Leadership Award, which Sofield won for the state of South Carolina. Strom Thurmond Excellence in Public Service honor. Greenville (South Carolina) Chamber of Commerce—ATHENA Award, for her work with young people and aspiring politicians. Deb Sofield is a Liberty Fellow, a South Carolina partnership with the Aspen Institute.
Sofield earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications in 1986, and ran successfully for public office in the City of Greenville, South Carolina, for a City Council seat serving as a two-term member of Greenville City Council.
