Debbie was born in Flint, Michigan and attended Pierce Elementary School through the Third grade. Her family moved to Okemos MI where she graduated from Okemos High School.

While in High School she received Community Service awards for her work in puppet therapy with autistic children, mentoring young women and horse therapy for cerebral palsy adults.

She attended Michigan State University, Radcliff College and Boston University. In 1982 she received an A.S. degree in Architectural Engineering Technology from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston MA. She was also a puppeter in the Jim Henson movie ‘The Muppets Take Manhattan’. She worked as an As-Built drafter on nuclear power plant construction sites. Later while working nights as a technician in a corn refinery she attended the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana, receiving a B. S.
in Chemical Engineering in 1990.

After graduating, Deborah joined Intel Corporation in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  She has been a Diffusion Engineer, TechnologyTransfer Program Manager, Fab Construction and Start Up Assistant Program Manager. In 2000 she received her PMP (Project Management Professional) certification. Debbie is currently a Transition Change Management & Communications Specialist with Intel Corporation.

At Intel she has also been very involved in Diversity education. She has created and presented Diversity workshops at Intel and nationally. She feels that of all the projects she has led while at Intel, the Holly Near Song Talk on inclusion is one of her proudest moments.  In this project, she united all of the Employee Groups to work together on one event. It was a wonderful bonding experience that produced long lasting positive results for many Intel employees and their families.

While working for Intel, Deborah has had the opportunity to work with people from all over the world such as United States, Ireland, Israel, Japan, China, India, Philippines and Malaysia.  Living in New Mexico has given her the opportunity to learn about various southwestern cultures.  She is a mentor in the Futures for Children, education program for American Indian children and volunteers as a Puppet Camp Director for the Cottonwood School.

Debbie loves the outdoors. She has 2 horses, is a member of the Corrales Bosque Patrol and the Back Country Horsemen of America. She volunteers at Sandia Peak on the Sandia Peak Ski Patrol.

In 2009 she was among the 12 New Mexico residents to recieve the "Corporate Heroes" award from the New Mexico Business Weekly.