Deborah (Debbie) Bates graduated cum laude from the UD Music Department in 1996 with a major in music therapy and a minor in psychology. She completed her music therapy internship in May of 1997 at the Forbes Health System in Pittsburgh PA under the guidance of Carol Shultis, MT-BC. Debbie resides in St. Clairsville OH and is currently employed as the music therapist for Hillcrest at the Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling WV. Hillcrest is the mental health unit of OVMC and provides services to adolescents, adults and geriatric clients.
In November of 1997, Debbie co-presented "Internship Survival 101" at the national conference of the National Association for Music Therapy.