Debra Schaffner (aliengirl) was raised by robots in the suburbs of New Jersey. She eventually made her way west where she worked as a bike messenger, carpenter, and sound designer before finding her niche as a video editor and filmmaker.

She moves easily between the commercial and documentary realm, with clients that include Adobe, KQED, IBM, Edutopia (George Lucas Foundation), WildAid, and Vevo.

Her work has aired on PBS, Cartoon Network, SMG (China) and screened at festival venues internationally. She is currently directing her first feature documentary, Curse of the Mutant Heirloom with support from Cal Humanities, BAVC MediaMaker, Jewish Film Institute, The Berkeley Film Foundation, and Jewish Story Partners.