She was previously a postdoctoral scholar at the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions at Vanderbilt University. Her Ph.D. is from the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and B.A. in Government from Smith College. Prior experience includes working as a legislative assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives. Her current research examines how members of Congress engage with bureaucratic agencies on policy issues. Ritchie's research has appeared in Political Behavior and the Journal of Politics.