Debra Howell was born in Philadelphia, PA, but has lived in New Orleans on and off since the 7th grade. She received a BA from Bryn Mawr College in 1979 and an MFA in Printmaking from Tulane University in 1983. Howell has exhibited her prints, photographs and mixed media lightworks extensively since 1980; she has been represented by LeMieux Galleries since 2000, and was represented in the past in New Orleans by Bienville Gallery and Hall-Barnett Gallery. In 2005, Howell was chosen as the 'Collector's Club' print artist by New Orleans' Contemporary Arts Center, and she is a founding member of the VESTIGES Project, a 25-year old collaborative of artists and writers based in New Orleans.