She got her bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and English from University of Massachusetts Amherst before going to the University of Oregon for her Ph.D. In graduate school she worked under David Tyler developing catalysts for a greener synthesis of methyl methacrylate (the monomer for Plexiglas). She was then a visiting professor at Centre College in Danville, KY before starting at Fitchburg State in Fall 2015. Her current research focuses on silver nanoparticles as catalysts and in commercial products.