Debra started selling sweet corn door-to-door as a child growing up on a 100-acre beef farm. She proceeded to win a magazine sales contest logging the highest sales in the history of the company in the 11th grade of High School. Elected President of the French Creek Baptist Youth Association in the 12th grade, she completed a work tour of the Managua Nicaragua earthquake damage.

She negotiated with the Vice-President of McDowell National Bank to work 12-hour days during the summers of her college years. She also took an off-campus job with an Accounting Firm, and worked in her college campus kitchen to pay 100% of her college tuition. As a college sophomore was selected to create a work study program to coordinate junior students' General Education course work with Harrisburg, Pennsylvania businesses.

As President of her college's Senior Class, she initiated the Senior Sneak, which served to bond the seniors as well as promote a sense of connectedness and camaraderie throughout the entire college. She was named to the Dean's List 4 semesters.

Debra was elected captain of the Messiah College's women's Varsity Basketball and Field Hockey teams. She was selected to try out for the goalie position on the US Olympic Field Hockey team after playing the sport only 3 years.

Within 1 year of hire she obtained her Series 7 registration and Property and Casualty Insurance license. Debra led the John Hancock Camp Hill Agency in life insurance sales from 1979-1980. Contrary to a 3-5 years' age disparity between one's clients and one's own age in the life insurance industry, Debra's clients' age averaged double her own age, signifying her ability to command respect outside her peer age group.

She was named Director of Tax-Advantaged Investments in the Ridgewood, NJ John Hancock office in 1980. Debra led the agency in equity sales for 3 consecutive years. In 1983 she joined The Financial Network, a fee-based financial planning firm, as a featured seminar speaker. She was elected the youngest (and first female) President of the 500-member Passaic-Bergen Life Underwriters Association. In 1985 Debra was named the Life Underwriter of the Year. Realizing that as a young female she needed extra credentials to be taken seriously, she obtained her Certified Financial Planner designation in 1.5 years--the shortest possible time by doubling up on exams, taking 2 exams every 6 months and successfully passing each exam. She was admitted to the Registry for Financial Planning Practitioners, a worldwide organization of elite financial planners numbering less than 800 internationally on the first invitation, a feat unmatched in The Financial Network.

As Director of Equity Sales for Lincoln Financial Corporation in 1987, Debra led the agency in sales and also trained and managed 27 registered representatives. In 1994 she developed Debra L. Morrison & Associates, hiring two CPAs for tax preparation to complement her fee-based comprehensive financial planning, realizing that taxes and investments are inextricably connected. In 1996 Debra designed her leased office space for a budding 3-member firm, which blossomed over the next 3 years into a 6 member firm.

In 1997 Debra obtained her Masters of Science degree from the College for Financial Planning in Retirement Planning. Featured on CNN, ABC, and CNNfn national television, Debra hosted live call-in question-and-answer shows for CNN fn from 1999-2001, as well as being featured on CNN's website's Q & A section. She created and produced Making Dollars and $ense with Debra L. Morrison & Associates, a marketing videotape of her various TV appearances.

Debra participated in The Strategic Coach program 3 years, including their Master's Degree program, and surveyed her client base to determine their perception of her Unique Ability, in order to maximize her service to them. She then tailored her workday and that of her staff according to the responses received, resulting in client satisfaction such that her client retention rate topped 97%, including client deaths.

She bought 2500 sq. feet of commercial office space in October 2000; gutted, designed, and oversaw building of premier offices, with state-of-the-art audio/video seminar room, for her expanded 5-member firm. She branded her financial planning process The Empowered Retirement Solution, and developed marketing material, a website, and business practices accordingly.

She was approached to merge with an 18-member fee-only firm in February 2001. After much deliberation, she accepted their partner offer and merged with RegentAtlantic Capital, LLC on August 1, 2001. She transferred 60 clients, and sold her commission and income tax preparation business in 9 months. She launched RegentAtlantic's Women's Initiative by writing and presenting extensive educational financial planning seminars and presented 6 seminars for women's empowerment. Most notably, she created and presented a seminar for World Trade widows that focused on how to take the next step forward, and subsequently provided a year of pro-bono services for them. Debra was also featured on the opening video tape at the 2003 TD Waterhouse National Convention as one of the United States' prominent and seasoned fee-only wealth managers.

She has been affiliated with Capital Financial Advisors, LLC since September 2005, as a fee-only Wealth Manager managing just under 100 million dollars for individuals and small business owners. She received her Accredited Estate Planner designation in August 2006 from the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils. She was Admitted to NJ Chamber of Commerce's NJ 300 in 2000, was named to Board of Directors & Finance Committee of Kirkridge Retreat Center in 2001, Named Pillar of Community in the Women's Fund of NJ in 2001 and was elected to Philharmonic Orchestra of New Jersey Board in that same year.

Debra is a sought after international motivational speaker and contributor to various media sources, appearing regularly on live television, radio, and in the print media. Her magnetic personality, wittiness and dry sense of humor make her an exceptional communicator. She is always eager to offer encouragement to widows, and women who are struggling to master their own finances. She takes an educational approach to investing and financial planning, and loves to "see the light bulb go off in women's eyes" when they get in touch with how logical finances are, and the knowing that they CAN do it!

Her passion for empowering women to achieve all they are capable of is contagious. She has formed life long alliances with professionals all over the world in ancillary fields of Psychology, Body Work, Aging & Yoga & Massage in order to buttress her claim that life requires balance of mind, body, spirit & finances. She is convinced that while the fear of not having enough money is often the number one concern of pre-retirees, the bigger challenge is enticing people to dream, really dream about what they want the next chapter of their lives to look like. That is the hard work. The finances are easy!

Her worldwide travel to visit and understand other countries cultures has prepared her to speak to a myriad of audiences. She is quick to take action to empower women towards a successful and life-infused "next chapter".

To book Debra for a motivational keynote address or a series of educational workshops, or empowering coaching sessions for your corporate employees, please write to Lucretia, her esteemed associate, at lucretia@debralmorrisonspeaks.com today, or call 1-877-BE WISE2.

We look forward to hearing from you!