Meet Debbie Tye!

By: Jahcarrdi Grant

This months business member highlight is Debbie Tye with the Austin Kids Directory. Debbie is a long-time Austinite with a passion for helping local parents, homeschooling parents, and even teachers, find resources for kids.

While Tye currently lives in Austin, she isn’t an Austin native. She hails from New Braunfels, Texas where she grew up in a loving family she’s still very close with today. She spent some time on the east coast for high school while her step-father worked as the department head of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at West Point in New York, before moving back to the Great State in the early 1980s.

Tye came to work with Austin Kids Directory after leaving a career in the mental health field that lasted about 13 years. After a brief stint selling ceiling fans, Tye helped launch a parenting magazine called Our Kids in 1998. A long-time friend and business partner, Bart Stevens, started the Austin Kids Directory around the same time. Our Kids closed in the Austin market so Debbie reached out to her friend Bart and they decided to work together. Bart decided to sell the magazine to Debbie in 2008 and she has been moving it along ever since.

“Owning a small business isn’t a small thing,” Debbie mentioned, “It’s exciting. It’s good to take a risk. It’s about believing in yourself. Worst case scenario you just regroup, but something is learned from every experience.”

Austin Kids Directory is a published booklet that includes local educational and recreational activities for central Texas kids. The directory is helpful for parents, teachers, and homeschooling parents alike. They’re also deeply intertwined with the community. Some businesses haven’t missed a single year of advertising in The Directory in the last 26 years, which is a strong testimonial to how they work with people and establish relationships with community businesses.

Tye joined the Friends of the Round Rock Public Library as a business member after running across a Friend’s membership table while taking her grandson, Hunter, to the library on a Sunday – a regular tradition they’ve created to instill a family-wide love and passion for reading in the next generation. When speaking of public libraries, Tye had nothing but positive things to say.

You can find Austin Kids Directory booklets in area Whole Foods, Central Markets, Libraries, and most after school locations. Austin Kids Directory team loves feedback and is always open to hearing how they can better provide resources to the community. The Directory also has active social media and websites that you can find below. 

Tye expressed. Debbie feels blessed to do the work she does, and we’re happy to have her as a member!

Debbie’s Favorite Books:

• The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
• Pince of Tides – Pat Conroy
• Overstory – Richard Powers