She was born and raised in Nebraska, and attended both undergrad and law school in Lincoln. She began volunteering for Big Dogs Huge Paws at the beginning of 2012, during her last semester of law school, after reading an article in the Lincoln Journal Star about one of the dogs being fostered in the area. Hoping to one day own a giant breed, but having little experience with them, Emily thought it would be a good idea to get familiarity with such large breeds. She began by doing transports and attending events; after moving to Omaha the following year, she also began to take more of an active role in chairing and planning events, doing welcome calls for new volunteers, helping with the occasional legal issue, and performing home checks for potential adopters.