She was the kind of person you do not forget.
Dr. Deborah Salmon was a mental health counselor, a mother, a friend, and the kind of person who made every room she walked into feel warmer. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, she spent most of her life there before coming to the United States, earning a Bachelor's in Social Work, a Master's in Clinical and Mental Health Counseling, and a Ph.D. in Mental Health Counseling along the way.
She dedicated her career to the people who needed someone in their corner most. She worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at DCF, Hillcrest Educational Centers, and The Brien Center right here in the Berkshires. She co-founded Choices Mentoring Initiative and founded the Berkshire Health and Wellness Community Center, building institutions, not just filling roles. She was never one to be defined by titles. The impact she made was personal, one person at a time.
She was taken too soon by cancer, at 51, surrounded by her children. The people who loved her most refused to let that be the end of her story.
The Dr. Deborah Salmon Foundation was built by those people: family, friends, colleagues, and anyone whose life she touched. It is not a memorial. It is a continuation. Everything we do, from the scholarships we award to the tournaments we run, carries her name forward as an active force in the world.
The Dr. Deborah Salmon Foundation exists to turn grief into purpose. We channel the love people had for Dr. Salmon into scholarships, cancer awareness initiatives, and an annual tournament that keeps her spirit alive in the Berkshires and beyond.