Debbie is a small business owner providing consulting and governmental relation services and is immersed in healthcare reform. For more than 30 years, Debbie was a practicing physical therapist who developed a passion for home and community-based services and patient autonomy in decision-making. This prompted her to increasingly focus her work in healthcare administration, to attend law school to further her interests in health policy and advocacy and to eventually accept an appointment as Cabinet Secretary for the Department of Aging.

Debbie’s professional mission is to provide leadership in the development and effectuation of public policies that protect patients' rights and promote affordable access to quality care for all; and through her work she hopes to instill in her three children a sense of passion for community service.

Debbie is President of Delta Consulting Group, Inc, a small health care and public policy consulting group. She is Executive Director of the New Mexico Medical Insurance Pool by contract, a safety net program providing health insurance for people with serious medical conditions.  On a personal note, Ms. Armstrong has an adult daughter with childhood-onset metastatic thyroid cancer, an experience that has linked her to families across the state struggling with medical concerns. 

Debbie obtained her Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan in 1975 and her Juris Doctorate from University of New Mexico School of Law in 2001, focusing on health law. In addition to 20 years of direct experience as a practicing physical therapist, Debbie has more than 20 years of experience in program management and administration within healthcare organizations. Subsequent to her years in the private sector, Debbie spent seven years in State government at the NM Aging & Long Term Services Department, the last half of which she served as Cabinet Secretary. In addition, Debbie has taught graduate-level courses in bioethics and has served on numerous state and national boards and taskforces in a variety of healthcare and legal areas.