Debra Stern-Ellis, MSW, LCSW
Debra Stern-Ellis, LCSW received her BA in Psychology from UC Santa Barbara and her MSW from San Diego State University. She has worked in a clinical social work position at Sharp Healthcare for 25 years while also serving as the Director of Community Services at JFS of San Diego and the Director of Health Services at the San Diego LGBT Community Center. She was awarded Clinical Social Worker of the Year in 2011. Debra currently thrives as the Oncology Clinical Social Worker at Kaiser Permanente San Diego, honored to work with inspiring patients during an especially vulnerable time in their lives. Debra and Heidi met at UC San Barbara in 1984 and had a commitment ceremony in 1992, the subject of a short documentary, “Chicks in White Satin,” nominated for an Academy Award in 1993. Always desiring a family, Debra gave birth to Mikayla in 1995 and Heidi to Ethan in 1999. The couple was married legally in California in 2008 with their children at their sides.