She completed her undergraduate studies in biology at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama and she earned her master’s degree in clinical psychology at Georgia Southern University. Deborah began teaching for East Georgia State College as an adjunct faculty, while also working at a prison for adolescent males. After feeling called to teach, she left the clinical field to pursue teaching full-time. Throughout her tenure at EGSC, she has taught General Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, and Psychological Adjustment.