She joined the University faculty in January 2008. She earned a master's degree in sociology from the University of North Carolina Charlotte and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. After earning a Ph.D. she was employed at the University of Tennessee as a senior research associate for the Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment. Areas of interest and expertise include social justice, social change, poverty and inequality, race, class and community studies.