Deb lives in Kirkwood with her nephew Griffin.  Six years ago, Deb had the great opportunity of having her eight year old nephew move in with her.  Griffin is now 14 and in his last year at North Kirkwood Middle School.   As a single parent, Deb understands the importance of Griffin’s education and school.  She and Griffin are fortunate to live in a community with the great public education Kirkwood Schools offer.  Deb wants every child to have the opportunity Griffin has, and when she represents the 94th District in Jefferson City, she will work for all our children's quality education.

Born and raised in New England, Deb has been a long term resident in the Sugar Creek Valley of Kirkwood.   As many "new" residents, Deb actively sought out an opportunity to live in Kirkwood.  The beauty of tress, the uniqueness of the neighborhoods, the thriving downtown business district, all make Kirkwood a highly sought after place to live.  

After graduating from high school in Ridgefield Conn.,  Deb put herself through college at Marquette University in Milwaukee where she graduated with a Bachlor of Science in Physical Therapy.  Soon after graduation, Deb moved to St. Louis and has resided here for the past 30 years.  Her first job was with DePaul Hospital where she found her skills to be best suited for orthopedic patients.   These patients include people with sports injuries, back pain, both the low back and neck, and people recoverying from surgery for knees, shoulders, backs and necks.    Over the years, she has worked with orthopedic patients in many different settings: in-patient, out-patient, home health, and skilled facilities.  As a small business entrepreneur, Deb currently owns and runs an outpatient clinic, Des Peres Physical Therapy, located at the northern border of the district.   Delivering real results, Deb has been well recognized throughout the medical community and receives referrals from around the entire region.

While treating her patients, Deb has encountered many problems with our current healthcare insurance system.  She is critically aware of patients who come with ever increasing out of pocket co-pays and the seemingly capricious denial of services.  Many patients with healthcare coverage do not have physical therapy services covered, and 47 million Americans no longer have any health care coverage at all.  Healthcare is an important issue with Deb, and she will work to find solutions.

Since 2003 Deb has been a small business owner.  That's when she started Des Peres Physical Therapy.  As a small business owner-entrepreneur she is aware of the issues that surround small business in today’s competitive corporate environment:  increasing business taxes, rising health care costs and businesses' involvement in the growth and development of our communities.  Deb joined the Kirkwood Area Chamber of Commerce in 2004 to participate with this strong group of people committed to their communities.   As State Representative Deb will work to improve small business policies affected by state government. 

Deb was a memeber of The Lambert Airport Rotary Club from 1985-1990.  Rotary had just launched a world wide initiative to erradicate polio by 2010.   As a Physical Therapist, Deb was very interested in participating with an organization with this as one of their gloabal initiatives.    With Rotarty International's support the incident of polio has been reduced by 95% and many continents are indeed Polio free.  Unfortunately there are still 4 countries in the world: Pakistan, Afkanistan, India and Nigeria where polio is still present.  Bill Gates has recently teamed up with Rotary international to support the efforts to eradicate this disease over the next 3-5 years.    Deb has recently joined the Kirkwood Rotary Club where she is an active member.  

Deb has always been involved in community activities.  While in Lambert's Rotary Club, Deb created a project with the Baptist Children’s Home in Bridgeton.  The Rotary Club identifies families in need at Christmas, and then takes those kids shopping to buy gifts for their families.  The project allows the children in the Baptist Children’s Home to learn the spirit of doing for others.  The Rotary Club has continued Deb's successful project for more than 15 years.   

After 9-11 Deb and most other Americans were looking for ways to help New Yorkers.   She created a project, Hugs and Kisses, which consisted of collecting more than 6,300 holiday cards from people in the St. Louis area, and passing them out to people working and living in the area around Ground Zero on that December 21, 2001.

In high school Deb discovered her interest in politics when she participated in Girls State, a program sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary.  She has pursued politics over the past many years by becoming involved in many local and state issues.  Deb has worked the halls in Jefferson City, including PT Lobby Days and Women for Choice Lobby Days.  Additionally, Deb served as an intern for State Representative Barbara Fraser (D-83) in 2006.