Born in San Antonio, Texas, Deborah is the co-founder of The Great Springs Project and President of the
Board of Directors. She was a past President of the Board of the Hill Country Foundation and has continued working to preserve local springs and creeks in the Texas Hill Country. Her other charitable commitments involve the Hope Project in India, having co-founded their Kids to Nature Program, serving as Chairman of the Board of Tapovan Trust and is a supporter of the Organic Farming Land Program. Additionally, she is a board member of the Feline Rescue Network and past Board member for the Nutritional Research Foundation, a group that carries out clinical research on diet and its disease-fighting properties of food. Deborah is a longtime teacher of yoga and meditation, and has been practicing for over 35 years. As a student of Sufism for over 30 years, she graduated from Suluk Academy in New Lebanon, New York, in 2007. Deborah received her BBA in Statistics and Marketing from the University of Texas at Austin in 1983. Deborah lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, John Mackey, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Whole Foods Market. Together, Deborah and John maintain a ranch in the Texas Hill Country that models sustainable living through biodynamic agriculture and manages land for bio-diversity and the health of the eco-system and wildlife.