She received a Bachelor of Arts (majors: Music and Psychology) from the University of Virginia and a PhD in Psychology from the Clinical/Community Division of the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She then completed her post-doctoral training at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center (MPRC) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) where she transitioned to a faculty position (Instructor). Dr. Fisher joined the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress in July 2011 as the Project Director/Research Psychologist on the National Military Family Bereavement Study (NMFBS).