Deborah Gatrell is a veteran, a teacher, and an independent thinker.
Camp Bucca, Iraq, 2008
Born into a military family, Deborah is the third generation to serve. She lived in several different states and countries while growing up, but Utah was always her family’s home. Deborah understands firsthand many of the challenges Utah students face: moving mid-year, challenges of disrupted learning, learning a new language at school in a foreign country, from isolated K-12 schools to large suburban high schools, she lived it all and empathizes with students and their families.
Family, faith, and community involvement were constants in life everywhere she lived. Her family settled in Utah permanently in 1994, Deborah graduated from Northridge High School in 1996, then started university studies at BYU at just 17.
Deborah has dedicated her life to serving her country, enlisting when she was just 20 years old. Over the course of her 25-year military career in the Utah Army National Guard, Deborah has served her country both at home and abroad as a Blackhawk pilot and Military Intelligence officer.
After a deployment to the Middle East in 2008-2009, Deborah settled in West Valley and began teaching full-time. She worked in a small school for teen mothers, a Junior High School, and now teaches in a 5A High School. Deborah is a National Board Certified Teacher in Granite School District where she also currently serves as her school’s Social Studies department chair. She frequently speaks and writes about education-related issues as an extension of her advocacy work as a Utah Teacher Fellow and has been involved in multiple USBE projects, to include developing Teacher-Leadership pathways and designing the Instructional Coaching Endorsement. She is particularly concerned about Gun Violence Prevention, having lost a student to gun violence during a lunchtime fight in 2022. Her students motivate her to find creative ways to provide engaging and accessible learning experiences to meet their diverse needs.
Deborah has dedicated her life to serving her country and community. In a time when it is needed most, she brings broad perspective, attention to detail, calm confidence, and thoughtful experience to a School Board stressed by culture war distractions. Deborah lives by the BYU ROTC motto of “Service First!” and she is committed to serving Utah families and students on the Utah State Board of Education.
Deborah Gatrell is a member of the Utah National Guard. Use of her military rank, job titles, and responsibilities does not imply endorsement by the Utah National Guard or the Department of Defense.
