Bio

Deborah (Debbie) focuses her practice on federal government contracts and compliance. Her extensive experience advising on service and supply procurements across the Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, and the Department of the Air Force gives her a deep understanding of Departmental and Service priorities and communication styles. Known for her innovative problemsolving and relationshipbuilding approach, Debbie consistently improves processes and enhances efficiency. She is honored to have served as an Air Force Judge Advocate, a federal civilian employee, and a military spouse.

Prior to joining The Sander Group, Debbie served as an Acquisition Attorney for the Air Force Materiel Command at Hanscom AFB, MA from December 2024 through September 2025.  Debbie provided guidance to several large source selection teams working to modernize Air Force Information Technology systems and services.  It was a meaningful return to the Air Force for Debbie, who began her career as an Active Duty Judge Advocate and went on to serve the Air Force as both a military attorney and a civilian acquisition attorney.

Preceding her Air Force position, Debbie served as the Defense Logistics Agency Senior Associate General Counsel for Acquisition at Fort Belvoir, VA, from August 2022 through December 2024, where she was responsible for a team of six headquarters-level attorneys.  Debbie and her Acquisition Law Team provided high level acquisition advice to Senior Agency Officials and staff, as well as six Agency Major Subordinate Command Offices of Counsel on a variety of worldwide supply and logistics acquisitions.  Her main client was the Director of Acquisition, also serving as the Agency’s Senior Procurement Executive/Component Acquisition Executive. 

Before joining the Defense Logistics Agency, Debbie spent 16 years serving the Department of the Army in a variety of roles from 2006 to 2022. Her experience includes work with the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command at Scott AFB, IL; the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation in Orlando, FL; and the Army Materiel Command Legal Center at Redstone Arsenal, AL.  Over those years, she became a trusted advisor to sourceselection teams, helping them make swift, defensible awards that delivered essential capabilities to the warfighter. Debbie also provided guidance on Other Transaction Authority and Intellectual Property rights, successfully defending numerous award protests. Her Army service further expanded her experience in Ethics Law, Fiscal Law, and Labor and Employment Law.

Across more than 24 years of service to the United States, Debbie earned multiple honors, including the Air Force Civilian Career Service Award, two Meritorious Civilian Service Awards, and the Superior Civilian Service Award. In 2019, Army Materiel Command named her the Joyce I. Allen Attorney of the Year, recognizing her key role in helping stand up the Army Futures Command.

Debbie earned her Juris Doctorate from Western New England College School of Law in 1992 and her Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Syracuse University in 1989.  Debbie completed the Army Continuing Education for Senior Leaders in 2020 and attended the Army Civilian Education System Advanced Course in residence at Ft. Leavenworth in 2019.  Debbie previously held a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS-SCI) Security Clearance.