She holds a Ph.D. from Colorado State University in Organization Performance and Change. She also holds an MBA with a Health Administration major from the University of Colorado at Denver, and Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas at El Paso. Her Bachelor of Science degree is in Nursing from the University of New Mexico. Prior to joining University of Saint Francis Dr. Bodwell worked for Centura Health in Denver Colorado. Centura is a health care delivery company sponsored by Catholic Health Initiatives and Adventist Health Systems.