Since 2004, Debra has successfully re-designed the organization's strategy and infrastructure. By focusing The Center for What Works on conducting and sharing sector-wide research, she ensures successful outcomes for nonprofits and funders.
Debra is an influential thought leader in the field of outcome measurement. As a Principal Investigator with the Urban Institute, she completed ground-breaking research to develop outcome frameworks that are currently used by a wide spectrum of nonprofit organizations.
She also designed and developed the Performance Measurement Toolkit and the Foundation Effectiveness Toolkit, inspiring hundreds of nonprofits and funders across the country to approach outcome measurement more easily and effectively.
Debra's expertise in assisting nonprofits to connect their strategic plans with actionable outcomes and indicators for improved internal management and increased external funding has made her a highly sought after advisor and speaker. She has presented at conferences including: Net Impact's annual conference, NYU's Social Entrepreneur Conference, Social Solution's Annual Conference, the League of American Orchestras' Annual Conference, and the Tutor/Mentor Leadership Conference. She also frequently presents web-based seminars and training programs.
She is a member of the Alliance for Effective Social Investing and has advised many leading organizations including: GuideStar, FSG Social Impact Advisors, and McKinsey and Co.
In 2004, Debra founded the Chicago professional chapter of Net Impact, a global network of leaders changing the world through business. She continues to chair the chapter. Under her leadership, the Chicago chapter was awarded Professional Chapter of the Year for 2007. Debra also serves on Net Impact's national membership committee to help determine global strategy.
Prior to her current role at The Center for What Works, Debra worked for IOR Global Services, a cross-cultural training and consulting firm, where she designed and streamlined business processes for several Fortune 100 corporate clients. She also helped launch a technology company, where she successfully implemented the first client in over 20 countries.
Debra holds a Masters degree in Organizational Management from the SIT Graduate Institute in Vermont. Her Masters thesis explored social entrepreneurship and the effective use of performance measurement strategies to improve organizational performance. Debra has studied, lived and worked in England, Japan, India, Israel, and Argentina; she integrates and uses her evolving knowledge of the world to learn, leverage and contribute on a daily basis. Debra lives in Chicago with her husband and two sons.