My teaching, writing, community and consulting work form a tapestry stitched together by a continuous thread I have followed all my life related to notions of home and family, intimacy and connection, art and beauty, social inequalities, social justice, and social change.

About Deborah hero image

Education

University of Wisconsin-Madison
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Certificate in Women’s Studies

University of Texas at Austin
Master of Arts in Sociology

Brandeis University
Ph.D., Sociology and Joint Master of Arts in Women’s Studies and Sociology

It was my mother who really taught me how to look at a very young age–her life as an artist profoundly shaped my own.

My Passions & Interests

  • I love to travel but hate packing

  • I learned to like sushi when I was 30 and now see it as a food group

  • I love memoirs, documentary films, and photography and see these three all connected to each other and to sociology

  • Popcorn is definitely a food group and so is good, dark coffee

  • Palm trees are happy trees and I feel lucky to be living by them

  • I've become a lover of bluegrass and Americana