Debra Harder

Debra Harder, MSW was born and raised in Idaho and experienced a vast array of cultural opportunities. She was raised in a home open to cultural opportunities including placement of approximately 24 exchange students ranging in stay from one week to one year and from countries including Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Greece, Switzerland and Finland. She lived in Finland for six months and has returned on multiple occasions, considering it her second home country.

She earned a master’s degree in social work in 1995 and has worked in the mental health field for over 20 years. She is currently retired from practice as a Clinical Social Worker in Correctional Mental Health. She continues to focus her career path on overall social and mental health issues, and is a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional.

She had worked with the American Red Cross as a disaster services volunteer, having served in national disasters of the SE Kentucky Floods, Typhoon Chata'an in Guam, Hurricane Lilly, Louisiana, Hurricane Isabel in Virginia and local community response in her than home state of Idaho.

She has participated in the Leukemia Lymphoma Society: Team In Training Nike Women's Marathon in SanFrancisco in 2012 and in the Bass Lake Triathlon in 2013 to raise money and awareness to find a cure for Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Her most valued gift is her family and friends. She has been blessed with one son, a daughter in law, and two grandchildren, who reside in California. She had one daughter, Janet who passed away from Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2011. She has also been blessed with four step-children and nine step grandchildren.

She currently lives in California and loves to travel, write and spend time with family. The Sunshine Girl: A Mother's Love Story to Her Daughter is her first book and her daughter Janet's lasting legacy of poetry, artwork and shared experiences.