Deborah Baum Crain

For much of her career at Eastman Chemical Company, Debbie Crain served in business management roles, taking increasingly high-level responsibility for development and marketing of products ranging from acetyl chemicals to specialty plastics to custom and fine chemicals. In addition, she led new product launches for both Eastman Tritan™ copolyester and Perennial Wood™, both of which positioned Eastman in consumer-facing and retail markets.

Since retiring from Eastman, Crain has blended her problem-solving skills with her passion for genealogy. She has authored more than 20 books grounded in extensive research spanning the United States, Italy, Germany, and beyond. Her works include multiple family histories—ranging from tracing her maternal ancestors in Italy to documenting a paternal line whose forebear sailed with William Penn from England to colonial Pennsylvania in 1682. Her most recent books explore her paternal German heritage, following family lines from southern Indiana back to the Osnabrück and Syke regions of northern Germany.

Crain earned her Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School in 1989, and received her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Tech in 1985. Debbie served as Chair of the Virginia Tech Chemical Engineering Advisory Board from 2016 to 2023.