She holds a Ph.D. in Spanish from Yale University.Her research interests include the sociology of literacy, the history of heritage language teaching and activism in the United States. Some of her most recent publications include "Language Ideologies and the Settlement House Movement: A New History for Service-Learning" in the Michigan Journal of Service Learning and "Literacy Narratives for Social Change: Making Connections between Service-Learning and Literature Education" in Enculturation. These articles include descriptions of local community literacy and Spanish heritage language programs created in Northern Virginia by Rabin, her colleagues and Mason students.