Debra Valeri, born in 1960, grew up in Bridgewater, MA. She graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 1982 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration. At RISD she studied with illustrators Chris VanAllsburg, David Porter, Lester Abrams, and David McCauley; painters Tom Sgouros, and Trent Burleson; color field theorist, Sy Sillman; and studied perspective with artist Akira Arita. 

Her early career as an illustrator began with both freelance and staff positions at advertising agencies and manufacturers. In 1988 she acquired her MA Teacher’s Certification from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. In the next five years that followed she taught art at the area high school level while teaching Illustration each summer at Rhode Island School of Design Summer Sessions.

After raising two children, as a full time painter, she entered many shows and juried competitions, winning numerous awards in a short period of time.  Some of the shows and venues included Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, National Arts Club (NYC, NY), Providence Art Club (Providence, RI), Guild of Boston Artists (Boston, MA), Paint America Top 100 (Traveled throughout US), Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery (BCC, Fall River, MA, Duxbury Art Association (Duxbury, MA), Plymouth Arts Guild (Plymouth, MA), Cape Cod Art Association (Barnstable MA), South County Art Association (South Kingstown, RI), Attleboro Arts Museum (Attleboro, MA).  

Debra became an elected member of the Guild of Boston Artists of Newbury Street, Boston, in 2015.  Before becoming an elected Guild member she had been juried into the non-member Annual Regional Juried Exhibition for the seven years prior, selling many of her paintings and winning a medal.  Her professional affiliations also include the South Coast Artists, Oil Painters of America, Allied Artists of America, and the Westport Art Group.