Debra is currently an Academic Advisor at McGraw Hill Education and a music instructor at Orpheus Academy of Music. Before this, she served as the Director of Education at Austin Opera and spent 28 of her 30 years in Texas public schools teaching music at Hill Elementary in Austin ISD. Debra witnessed the transformative power of jazz music and the impactful work of the Austin Jazz Workshop firsthand. She joined the AJW Board in 2016, served as Secretary, and was elected Board President in 2023.