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Debbie has been exposed to hotel development since her very early years as the daughter of Hervey Feldman, founder of Embassy Suites. She started as a desk clerk at a Holiday Inn in Topeka Kansas when she was just 13. Debbie later opened and helmed two Embassy Suites in the Virginia suburbs of DC. As an ‘opening’ General Manager, Debbie was involved with several ownership groups many months before a hotel’s grand opening, building a staff, and importantly, also interfacing with the owner, developer, and contractor on behalf of the brand and operator.
Debbie joined FelCor Lodging Trust in the early 90’s as an Asset Manager with a portfolio of over 40 hotels comprising all of the major brands. She developed many good and genuine relationships with both operators and brand executives. This vast hotel experience in leadership roles has resulted in high competencies in strategic planning, market and financial analysis, financial modeling and underwriting, project scope development, project management, asset management and significant expertise in evaluating potential acquisitions. Debbie also has experience in negotiating management contracts, ground leases and purchase and sale agreements. In her subsequent role as Vice President, Capital Transactions, she was responsible for leading change in redevelopment and repositioning projects exceeding $50 million.
Debbie graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics, as well as a devotion to the Jayhawks. She later attended Georgetown University for her Master of Science in linguistics with a minor in German. Impressively, she is also conversational in French and Spanish. Debbie then went on to earn her master’s in Business Administration from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.
Debbie joined FelCor Lodging Trust in the early 90’s as an Asset Manager with a portfolio of over 40 hotels comprising all of the major brands. She developed many good and genuine relationships with both operators and brand executives. This vast hotel experience in leadership roles has resulted in high competencies in strategic planning, market and financial analysis, financial modeling and underwriting, project scope development, project management, asset management and significant expertise in evaluating potential acquisitions. Debbie also has experience in negotiating management contracts, ground leases and purchase and sale agreements. In her subsequent role as Vice President, Capital Transactions, she was responsible for leading change in redevelopment and repositioning projects exceeding $50 million.
Debbie graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics, as well as a devotion to the Jayhawks. She later attended Georgetown University for her Master of Science in linguistics with a minor in German. Impressively, she is also conversational in French and Spanish. Debbie then went on to earn her master’s in Business Administration from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.