Debi is a longtime practitioner in the Suzuki Roshi lineage. Ordained by Meiji Tony Patchell, she received Dharma Transmission from Hoka Chris Fortin. She is a member of the 2027 cohort of the Upaya Chaplaincy Program. She is active in the Sonoma County Sanctuary Group, in support of immigrant rights and also is a longtime volunteer with Compassion Without Borders, an animal rescue group.

A retired Physical Therapist, she worked in Home Health for 30 years. Debi is also a sewing teacher working primarily with distance students who are sewing a rakasu. She lives in Santa Rosa with her french bulldogs, Cosmo and Axel in a home lovingly referred to as the Alderbrook Asylum.