Debra is co-founder of the Michigan Lean Consortium and has held senior leadership positions at Johnson & Johnson, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Exide Technologies. She co-hosts The Leaning Edge on Michigan Business Network.

Debra has been teaching lean at the university level for over fifteen years and currently runs a consulting practice focused on strategic planning and leadership development. Lean philosophy engages employees at all levels to develop customer-focused, high-quality, cost-effective solutions with short lead times, fostering a leadership style that rewards experimentation and cultivates problem-solving skills.