Debra worked as a nurse for 10 years. In 1997 she was trained as a massage therapist at Renton Technical College and became licensed in Washington as well as earning her National Certification. Starting in 1997 she practiced massage at St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings, Montana for nine years. During this time she gave massages to hospital employees, gave chair massages at promotional events, gave talks to promote massage, gave massage to patients and even made house calls to people who were unable to come to her office. She was a member of the Montana Sports Massage Team for several years where she traveled to different sporting events and gave chair massages to athletes. Some of these events included, The Montana State Games, MS Bike Ride, Peaks to Prairie Competition, The Big Ride and The Women's Run.

Debra volunteered for several years at Big Sky Hospice in Billings, MT where she introduced massage to terminally ill patients. She volunteered time giving chair massage at health fairs on several Indian reservations in Montana. She has been a presenter at Indian Health Service conferences, giving workshops on ways to cope with stress for IHS diabetes coordinators and tribal leaders from Montana to Wyoming. Although she had wonderful experiences and opportunities in Montana, she is very pleased to be back in the Seattle area!