She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the College of Charleston, a Master of Public Health Degree from the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health and a Doctoral Degree in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences from MUSC. Prior to joining the MUSC College of Nursing faculty in 2013, she worked at Hollings Cancer Center as a cancer prevention and control research project manager for seven years and at the public health grassroots level in Georgia as a regional epidemiologist for six years.