Debra was born in the Midwest and graduated with a B.A., majoring in Philosophy.
Her interest in photography began at an early age when she became fascinated and emotionally moved by the images she saw in the National Geographic magazines her father brought home and by the images displayed on the nightly news from the American involvement in southeast Asia. Her photographic desire was firmly cemented when she was gifted with a Polaroid camera by her parents. From those first creative sparks, Debra has continued to document the evolving world through the lens of her camera.