Deborah runs The Directors Convention Ltd., a leadership training and development organisation and personally specialises in leadership, strategy and board related courses.

She has over 20 years’ experience as both an Executive and Non-exec Director, in the commercial, public and voluntary sectors, currently being a Trustee at Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis and now Cyrenians. She was also recently a Trustee of Edinburgh Women's Aid, (refuges & support services) and NXD of Scottish Canals (waterways, tourism and regeneration).

Deborah was the youngest and the first female to be appointed as a director at the Miller Group (Construction), having started her career in advertising and marketing in London and later gaining an MBA. When still in her early 30s, Deborah became CEO of ‘affordable‘ and then ‘mainstream’ residential development businesses with T/O's to c.£100m, (in today's values). It was whilst running Miller’s Partnership affordable housing business that she came to truly understand the importance of housing to so many aspects of life, including education, wellbeing, safety and mental health.

Later, Deborah returned to academia, achieving a Doctorate in Business, researching leadership.