Since 1996, Debbie participated in the leadership of Laird Norton Company, a 170-year-old, eighth-generation Family business with a diverse portfolio of investments in real estate, wealth management, and consumer products.
She first served as a director of the Company from 1996 to 2008. During her first term, she chaired their Compensation Committee, served on their Investment and Nominating Committees, and participated in the Company’s 2000 and 2010 Long Range Planning Committees. In 1991, prior to joining the Board, Debbie played a led role in the planning and implementation of their Children’s Program, affectionately known as “Camp Three Tree.” She also contributed to the planning and programming of a Next Gen Program for their young adult family members ages 21-40.
In 2011, Debbie was reelected for a second term and served as Board Chair from 2012 to 2023. During that time, she also chaired the Board of their largest subsidiary, Laird Norton Properties, a fully integrated real estate company. As Board Chair, Debbie participated as a voting member of their Nominating and Compensation Committees and served in an ex-officio role on their Audit and Governance Committees and their Family Council. She also worked closely with their independent CEO and Family Council President and together, the three of them collaborated on shareholder relations, engagement, and communications. Debbie also participated in the planning of their annual meeting and Family Summit, a three-day retreat involving their entire family that now exceeds 525 members, 396 of which are shareholders.
Outside of her involvement with her family company, Debbie has served as an independent director for many other family-owned companies. At present, she serves on the board of the Larry H. Miller Company, a multi-generational family-owned business headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. The LHM Company manages a diverse portfolio of private investments and operating companies in real estate, senior healthcare, and sports and entertainment. Debbie serves on their Human Resources and Compensation Committee and chairs their Governance & Nominating Committee.
Debbie also previously served as a Director of the North America chapter of the Family Business Network; a not-for-profit network of family businesses, committed to enhancing family governance and generational success. She has been an invited guest and speaker at numerous family business conferences and events. Debbie especially enjoys sharing her experiences and “lessons-learned” related to family governance, shareholder communications, and engagement.
In 1990, Debbie founded and served as CEO of Pacific Preschools, Inc., a network of private, high quality, worksite childcare programs. In 1997, she led the sale of the company to Bright Horizons, the premier provider of employer-sponsored childcare and early education. For the next twenty years, Debbie served as their Vice President of Regional Development during which time she led new site selection and leasing, and participated in the entitlement, design, and development of fifty new state-of-the-art corporate-sponsored worksite childcare facilities for many well-known companies including Amazon, Boeing, Microsoft, and Starbucks, to name a few.
Debbie and her husband live in Scottsdale, Arizona, a community just north of Phoenix. They enjoy pickleball, biking, hiking, boating, kayaking, skiing, and most of all, spending time with their eight grandchildren, ages six to thirteen.
