Debi was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, USA in a blue-collar neighborhood. She attended public schools, and was once told by a teacher that her nickel-and-dime vocabulary would get her nowhere in life. Instead of inducing her to develop more sophisticated diction, the statement convinced Debi that everyday words and, more importantly, her everyday voice, would characterize and carry her writing. In 1991, she was awarded a BA in Creative Writing from Wayne State University.

In her artwork, Debi strives to show the everyday things around her in a new light. When it works, the words and images blend together to form a new whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Haiga and haiku have been published, or are scheduled to be included, in Simply Haiku, World Haiku Review and Heron's Nest. Her poetry has won awards in print and online in Yawp and PBL Poetry contests.

Debi's poetry has been published in MiPo, Can We Have Our Ball Back, flashquake!, Sea Change Poetry Journal and elsewhere.

She currently lives in Ireland with her husband and 2 children.