Staff Bio & Interview

Name: Debby Allard (Ms. A)

Position: Executive Director

Number of Years @ IDCS: 11 years, I began my teaching career here, moved to another state and have returned to the IDCS family

What is the most inspiring part of your job?

Student research.  Watching students choose topics that they’re passionate about and present their information in such creative ways is exciting.  Seeing student growth through their years at IDCS is inspiring and I always wonder what will be next for our learners because their potential is endless.  

Family, Pets, Home:

I live in Rhode Island with my husband Pete, two daughters Brynn and Graysen, and our dog Chako. 

Hobbies, Skills, Talents OR what do you like to do when you are not working? 

I love being outside.  Anything beach and water related is where you will likely find me when I’m not at work or watching my daughters play sports.  I also love hiking.

Who is someone you admire and why? 

I admire many people if I’m to be honest.  It’s hard to put just one.  Some qualities I admire in the many people I think I could list is their resilience, integrity, and how they treat others.  

If time travel and long distance space travel were possible and all fictional worlds were real.  What place and/or time would you visit and what would you do while you were there? 

Just like people are able to vacation on land and explore exotic places, I’d like to do the same in the ocean.  To be able to live in the ocean without scuba gear and walk underwater in the Mariana Trench or the Great Barrier Reef as though on land would be amazing. 

What is something you want to learn more about? 

Oh my, so many things.  I know very little about space.  Astronomy would be cool to learn so I can look at the night sky and understand more.  I’m a subpar gardener so I’d like to learn more about gardening, to improve my green thumb! 

If you had to eat only one food for the rest of your life what would it be?

Quesadillas.  They’re versatile.  You can make all different kinds like breakfast quesadillas, chicken quesadillas, veggie ones and more. It would be a great challenge to find a favorite and figure out how to always keep them changing.