Before joining Lighthouse, Debbie served as Executive Director of the Shenandoah Community Capital Fund, where she tripled the organization's budget and played a key role in driving small business growth across the region. She's also the founder of The Manufactory Collective, a creative hub for light manufacturing in Harrisonburg. 

Her passion for entrepreneurship took root at James Madison University, where a senior-year thesis on “founder’s syndrome” sparked a career devoted to helping visionaries turn ideas into impact. Whether through economic development boards or founder-first programming, Debbie is all about building ecosystems that last.