She received her Ph.D. from Duke University; both her Master of Divinity and her undergraduate degree came from the University of Notre Dame. Her research interests center around virtue ethics and action theory, but her teaching covers a broad range of moral theology, social ethics, and interdisciplinary courses, many of which demand commitment to dialogue across significant differences, including divergent deeply held values. She is a contributor to the CatholicMoralTheology.com blog and a participant in the Catholic Conversation Project.