Debbie Nogueras joined the University of Miami as a Senior Research Associate in 2007 with a career history of nursing, nursing education and community service. She had served as Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Director of Recruitment and Development at Barry University and Assistant Professor of Nursing at Barry University and Miami-Dade College.

Nogueras was also a Senior Clinical Researcher at South Miami Hospital, and has presented and published on a variety of topics in nursing, community health, health policy and ethics education.

Nogueras has a long history of community-based service. She began volunteering at age 13 and, as a registered nurse, later focused on children’s health issues, especially those arising in disadvantaged families and communities. She has volunteered as a school nurse, served on the board of directors of The Children’s Trust and Youth Ethics Initiative, and now mentors at-risk girls through Women of Tomorrow.

She is a recipient of Governor Crist’s "Point of Light Award" and was a finalist for the "Health Care Heroes of Greater Miami" service recognition award.

She co-created the Ethics Curriculum Project, which provides high school teachers with tools to foster critical thinking about ethical issues in real-life situations. This project is a collaboration among a community organization, the Youth Ethics Initiative, the University of Miami Ethics Programs and other South Florida universities.

Nogueras has joined the School of Education as the Project Director for implementation of the Miami SPEC (Strengths, Prevention, Empowerment and Community change) research project funded by The Children’s Trust. This action research project promotes child and family well-being in the county by introducing professionals to the SPEC model.