Her educational background includes BS (1979) from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan; MS (1985) from Texas Women's University in Dallas, Texas, and a PhD (2006) from University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. Dr. Ornes has 30 years of nursing experience with much of that done in Critical Care units. She has worked as a clinical nurse specialist and nurse in a cardiac rehab unit and has 12 years of teaching experience at the undergraduate level. Dr. Ornes's areas of research include nursing education and physical activity measurement, specializing in physical activity intervention for women.