Biography

Debra is a retired high school art educator who has also taught for community colleges for over 20 years. Debra has been a leader in the Art Education field. She is former President of the North Carolina Art Education Association and has held several positions on the board including Awards Chair and Newsletter Editor. She served on the NC Senate Joint Select Committee on Arts Education which ultimately led to establishment of a mandatory arts credit for NC high school students. She is a past Southeastern Region Vice-President of the National Art Education Association where she has served on many committees. She is currently the program coordinator for the 2024 NAEA convention to be held in Minneapolis in April 2024.

Debra regularly leads presentations at state and national arts education conferences and conventions. Along with a business partner, she created an educational consulting business, Pylstone, which is responsible for facilitating and moderating webinars for the National Art Education Association. In the past ten years, they have conducted 126 webinars with 16 more already scheduled. Debra is a trustee of the National Art Education Foundation.

Debra has established a community sculpture program, Swans by the Sea, in Swansboro, where she lives with her three dachshunds. Debra is an avid traveler having visited 27 countries around the world. Additionally, she loves singing in a community choir, volunteering with the local arts council and a Christmas program for disadvantaged children, attending theatrical productions, and going to the beach.

Education

• Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Photography and Printmaking, Slippery Rock University;
• Master of Arts in Education (MAEd), Art Education, East Carolina University;
• Master of Science (MS), Instructional Technology with emphasis on Distance Education, East Carolina University;
• Doctor of Education (EdD), Instructional Technology and Distance Education, Nova Southeastern University.

Awards and Recognitions

• Samuel Swann Bland Award for Outstanding Community Service, Town of Swansboro, NC, December 2022
• North Carolina Art Education Association Distinguished Fellow, Inaugural Class of 2020
• Order of the Long Leaf Pine, conferred by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, June 17, 2019
• Onslow County Arts Educator of the Year, 2018-2019
• White Oak High School Teacher of the Month, October 2017 & April 2017
• Adjunct Excellence in Teaching Award, Coastal Carolina Community College, Fall 2010
• National Art Honor Society Sponsor of the Year, National Art Education Association, 2010
• Community Spirit Builder, Town of Swansboro, NC, December 2009
• Marion Quin Dix Leadership Award for leadership in the profession, National Art Education Association, 2009
• North Carolina Art Educator of the Year, 2008
• North Carolina National Art Honor Society Sponsor of the Year, 2008
• North Carolina Art Educators Association Bobbi Bowman Scholarship, 2007
• Turkish Cultural Foundation Fellowship, Study travel tour to Turkey, 2007
• Rivers Scholar, East Carolina University, 2002
• Summa cum laude graduate, Slippery Rock University, 1991