Debbi was born and raised in Sudbury and was educated in Sudbury and Northern Ireland where she lived for three years. Upon her graduation she returned to Sudbury and was employed in the Student Placement Office at Cambrian College of Applied Arts and Technology for 4.5 years before joining the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce. Debbi holds the position of President and CEO and is in her 28 th year with the Chamber, making her one of the longest-serving Chamber executives in Canada today.

A strong believer in the value of professional and personal development, Debbi has played an active role in provincial and national Chamber managers’ associations, serving in a variety of capacities including President of both. She has chaired the “Programs and Practices” committee (formerly “Best Ideas”) at both levels for years, has delivered presentations at OCCE and CCEC meetings and has served as a mentor to many Chamber managers across the country. Debbi currently represents the interests of chambers in Ontario on the Chamber Insurance Corporation of Canada which delivers a national group insurance program.

At the community level, Debbi is a much sought-after contributor to many municipal committees and initiatives. Debbi was a founding board member of Sudbury Crimestoppers, the Industrial Training Centre for Women, and the Northern Ontario Business Awards. She has volunteered her time to such organizations as the United Way, the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines Northern Development Council, the Sudbury Regional Business Centre, Laurentian University Enterprises Centre, Sudbury Area Tourism Association and numerous community economic development committees and boards. Debbi has been a proud and active Rotarian for the past fourteen years. Debbi is the immediate Past Business Co-Chair of the Sudbury and Manitoulin Training and Adjustment Board where she served for eight years. Currently she is helping to spearhead the revival of the Northeastern Ontario Chamber of Commerce organization. In June 2004 Debbi was elected to the Board of Directors of the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation (GSDC) and in 2005 she was elected to its Executive Committee and currently chairs its Community Economic Development Committee. In 2006 Debbi was re-elected to the Board and Executive Committee of GSDC. Also in 2004 Debbi was appointed to the Board of Governors of Cambrian College of Applied Arts and Technology where she chairs its Governance Committee.

Debbi has received wide recognition for her dedication and commitment to her profession and the community that she serves. The Sudbury Business and Professional Women’s Club has recognized her on two occasions with its “Woman of the Day” award. The Ontario Chamber of Commerce Executives has awarded her its “Award of Excellence”, “Best Friend Award”, and its prestigious “James Gordon Carnegie Memorial Award”. The Ontario Chamber of Commerce honoured Debbi as its first recipient of the “B W (Burnie) Gillespie Memorial Award of Excellence”. Debbi has received the Chamber of Commerce Executives of Canada’s “Executive of the Year Award” and was inducted into its “Council of Excellence”. Northern Ontario Business newspaper presented Debbi with its “One of the 25 Most Influential Women in Northern Ontario” award in 1999. Debbi was honoured with the prestigious Canada 125 Medal commemorating the “125 th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada”. In 2002 Debbi was presented with the Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Medal for her contributions to the betterment of community life in Sudbury and to the Chamber of commerce movement across Canada.

Debbi is married and has two daughters and a son.