Deborah is a nationally recognized healthcare advisor with more than 20 years of experience with Warbird Healthcare Advisors. As the firm’s seniormost leader in CFO Strategic Services, she has been instrumental in driving Warbird’s reputation for excellence in interim leadership, complex financial engagements and enterprise-wide transformations.

Deborah has cemented trusting relationships with CEOs, CFOs, boards of directors and private equity sponsors across the country through her hands-on leadership and ability to deliver results in high-stakes environments.

While she leads the growth and strategic direction of Warbird’s CFO Strategic Services practice, Deborah also oversees and guides key client engagements across the firm’s service lines, including revenue cycle, operational turnarounds and payer strategy.

Professional Experience

Beyond her work with Warbird, Deborah’s leadership spans client advisory, project oversight and business development across diverse healthcare settings, from rural hospitals to major academic medical centers. Deborah has held executive roles in accounting, operations and talent management, supported by a Big 4 audit foundation and international experience in the United Kingdom.

Skills and Focus Areas

Strategic Relationship Management
Building and sustaining long-term partnerships with health systems, physician practices and private equity-backed platforms

CFO-Level Advisory & Interim Leadership
Leading high-impact financial transformation, interim CFO engagements and board-level consulting

Operational & Financial Optimization
Aligning financial strategy with operational performance to drive revenue growth, cost containment and enterprise value

Healthcare System Navigation
Advising executive leadership through periods of financial stress, regulatory complexity payer shifts and transaction planning

Professional Achievements

Strategic CFO Oversight Through Merger Collapse
Oversaw the placement and success of a transitional CFO during a merger termination between a non-profit health system and academic medical center. Reoriented the organization to operational discipline, managed covenant compliance, improved margins and stabilized external financial credibility.

Payer Exit Strategy
Provided oversight and expertise in helping one of the first major systems to exit Medicare Advantage. Negotiated new commercial contracts yielding more than $100 million in improved operating performance.

Physician Compensation Strategy
Led the design and implementation of a comprehensive compensation model, including break-even analytics and structure development for pediatric and hospital-based providers.

CFO Consulting Network Expansion
Architect of Warbird’s CFO Consulting Network, growing its bench of senior financial executives and expanding interim leadership solutions.

Rural Hospital Turnaround
Directed a comprehensive financial and operational turnaround, enabling a struggling rural community hospital to stabilize and grow.

Epic Re-installation & Revenue Cycle Optimization
Led performance improvement across revenue cycle operations during a major Epic EHR re-implementation at a large academic medical center.