My Coaching Experience
Deb’s notable career highlights:
Deb is a graduate of American University (Washington, D.C.), and the Harvard Business School Program for Management Development (Cambridge, MA). Her work has spanned industries, such as consumer electronics, consumer goods, industrial manufacturing, healthcare, professional services, and non-profit community-based organizations, but the through-line has always been leaders facing significant transition: a founder-to-CEO handoff, a post-merger integration, a family business preparing for next-generation leadership, or a mid-market company outgrowing its organizational structure. These are the moments where the right guidance makes the greatest difference.
2026 - Deb joined the Board of Directors of Imperial Distributors, a mid-market specialty distributor, bringing her firsthand experience with governance and leadership at the highest level of privately held companies. She was also invited to join Extraordinary Women on Boards, a peer network of over 900 experienced corporate board directors focused on advancing boardroom excellence and modernizing governance.
2009-2025 - Vice-President, Organizational Effectiveness for Imperial Distributors, a value-added specialty distributor of non-food products and marketing services to supermarkets and other retailers. In addition to leading the Human Resources team, she is the executive coach and strategic advisor to the CEO and Board of Advisors.
2000-2009 - Joined Bose Corporation, a $3 billion global consumer electronics company. Deb led Bose’s Center for Organizational Development and Education and coached several members of the management team, including the CEO, to whom she reported for several years in her role as Director of Strategy Development and Alignment. Among her accomplishments was the establishment of Bose’s first formal strategic planning and investment process, and the creation of a consumer retail strategy and growth plan for China and the Asia-Pacific market, which resulted in 33% year-over-year growth.
1991-1999 - As an executive coach and organizational development consultant she worked with senior teams in the Healthcare, Finance, Manufacturing, and Engineering spaces to improve communication and enhance management capabilities, utilizing total quality and continuous improvement methods. During this period, Deb helped the senior team at Rocky Flats in Colorado develop and communicate its plan to clean up and close down its nuclear facility.
1981-1990 - Joined Norton Company, a $2 billion publicly-traded global industrial manufacturer, where she became Executive Director of Norton Company Foundation, supporting organizations around the world, and later, Vice-President of Corporate Communications. In her role as Vice-President, she was responsible for public and investor relations, and employee communications, while being a key advisor to the CEO.
1978-1981 - Founded “This Is Worcester…”, a nationally recognized public-private partnership designed to engage citizens to improve the community.
Core Beliefs
My core beliefs are centered around empowering individuals to achieve their full potential.
Organizations
Leadership
Coaching
Teams
“Organizations don’t change, people do.”
“The obstacles for great leadership are often internal.”
“A good coach helps people understand the internal obstacles to success and provides a path to remove them.”
“People want to be great.”