In Memorian – Debra Nason (Debbie)

By Gustavo Garci

I just learned of the passing of my dear friend and mentor Debbie Nason. Surprisingly, this happened a while back and I’d expected more coverage from our industry, but as usual, Debbie was not a fan of the spotlight.

Debbie was a wonderful soul who inspired and guided the beginnings of my career. We met during the dot-com boom in Miami at the turn of the century. She was coming fresh from LA to explore new opportunities in the vibrant “Silicon Beach” (Miami’s nickname during this frantic digital investment period of 1999-2000) and through Jose Del Cueto we started operating Miami’s first digital agency “Red Click”.

Along the way, we brought in Angela A. Rodriguez who was just coming straight from UF and we became a shop. We had fun attending the most extravagant launch parties for now-defunct brands that included Terra, SportsYa!, Starmedia and El Sitio, many of which were also our clients. That wild ride marked the beginning of my career in digital marketing. I then joined Debbie at The Bravo Group, WPP’s largest US Hispanic agency, working alongside Daisy Exposito and Linda De Jesus-Cutler in some of the first Hispanic digital campaigns in the marketplace for clients like Sears, AT&T, Microsoft and Lincoln-Mercury.

Debbie was not only a brilliant media strategist, but a great agency leader and culture builder. Her sense of humor, peppered with healthy sarcasm, was always on point. I learned so much about American business culture, clients, our industry and life in general from her. Debbie became a friend and was there for me through good and tough times. She was there for my wedding and, when my apartment building was evacuated due to structural damage and my wife was 8 months pregnant, she maneuvered to find us a temporary housing in record time. She introduced me to great people in our industry that later became key to my career. Through Debbie I met Paul Suskey, who also became a great friend and we embarked on an almost 10-year journey lifting M8, Miami’s leading digital agency during the 2005-2015 decade. Debbie was always cheering us from the sidelines.

Debbie left Miami and moved to San Antonio, the city that would become her last home. We stayed in touch and kept our political dissertations and frantic hurricane-predictions going for a while. She was a devoted mother and daughter and the “engine” running her family. I had the opportunity to visit her a few times as I had a client in San Antonio and we had a chance to reminisce the old times.

I have a tremendous debt of gratitude for the “Debster”, for everything she was inside and outside of work, a dear and generous friend.

This is a picture of the last time we saw each other and the words she wrote back then. I’m also glad we had that chance. And let’s remember, all we have is today and the relationships we make at work, matter.

Debbie will always have a special place in my heart. May she rest in peace and her legacy live long.