She received a B.S. from Florida State University and a M.Ed. and Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from The University of Georgia. Following completion of coursework, Dowdy completed an internship at the University of Southern California/Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, receiving specialized training in pediatric and clinical psychology. After earning a California School Psychology Credential, she worked as a school psychologist in a broadly diverse school district south of Los Angeles. Dowdy has conducted research in the areas of behavioral assessment, specifically early identification of child behavior problems and classification methods. In addition to her program of research in the area of classification, screening, and early intervention, she has recently conducted research in the areas of pediatric psychology and culturally competent treatments for diverse populations.