Debbie Schaefer moved to King in 2003 to a country property bought by her husband's parents in early 1960s. To meet her new community, Debbie joined Concerned Citizens of King Township (CCKT) whose mission of promoting "a healthy countryside with working landscapes, significant natural areas, and vibrant communities" perfectly meshed with her own sentiments. She served as chair from 2007 to 2010. As a result of engaging on issues of interest to CCKT, Debbie gained appreciation for the importance of municipally elected representatives
Debbie has been serving King as the councillor for Ward 5 since 2010, having won four elections against one or two challengers each time. She is proud of her advocacy for respecting the natural heritage, culture and history of King. A personal priority has been citizen engagement. To encourage it, she hosts a blog previewing upcoming Council reports. She envisions sustainability in the context of climate change being a focus in the upcoming term.
Debbie has been the Council representative on the Township’s Heritage Advisory Committee, Sustainability Advisory Committee, and the Council liaison to Arts Society King. She is a founding member of the not-for-profit charity King for Refugees and Climate Action King. She is also a member of the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance.
Prior to moving to King, Debbie had a successful 27-year career with Procter & Gamble. Her career began in Toronto and, for the last 10 years of her career, she worked in different business units in Baltimore, Maryland and Brussels, Belgium. She graduated from Waterloo Lutheran University (now Wilfrid Laurier) with a Hons. B.A. in 1973 and from York University with an MBA in 1985.