She earned her B.A. in journalism at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Lurene received her M.A. in journalism and Ph.D in organizational communication from the University of Memphis. She has 15+ years experience in local television news and production. Originally from Butte, Montana, Lurene started her reporting career at her hometown TV station. She later worked as a TV reporter in Knoxville, Tennessee and then WREG-TV in Memphis, Tennessee. She is a contributor to the Emmy-award winning Smart Medicine on WKNO-TV and serves on the board of the U of M Journalism Alumni Club. Lurene and her family live in Midtown Memphis.