Debra's paintings hang in private collections from Palos Verdes Peninsula to Manhattan and in public spaces such as the historic Sixth and I Synagogue in Washington, D.C. Clients have included a U.N. Ambassador and President of Time Warner. Her work was recently featured in both the National Symphony Orchestra’s Decorator’s Showhouse and the 2010 DC Design House.
Debra has lectured and taught at The Smithsonian Institution and The Baltimore Museum of Art, as well as at Catholic and American Universities. She studied under Philip Guston at Boston University, where she received an MFA in painting and was awarded The Norman Robbins Traveling Fellowship for Museum Study Abroad. She was a scholar at both the Provincetown Workshop and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Drawing, and was also a Yaddo Fellow.
Debra’s ability to paint visually unified settings comprised of seemingly competing patterns springs from her earlier career as a textile designer whose work was featured in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, Vogue and Women's Wear Daily. Karl Lagerfeld, Christian Dior, Ann Taylor, Knoll International, Willi Smith, Oscar de la Renta, Macy's, Bloomingdales, Lord & Taylor, Marimekko and Saks Fifth Avenue were among the scores to purchase her designs. She was a finalist at the Fashion Foundation of Tokyo and designed both the modern textile and jewelry collections at the Museum of Ancient Greek and Cycladic Art in Athens, Greece.