She received her Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley. Her research areas include (1) economic evaluation of policy options to abate marine invasive species, (2) trade liberalization and transboundary air and water pollution, (3) cross media environmental regulations, and (4) economics of policies to address urban sprawl and protection of habitat such as wetlands and open space. Her research has been used by the trilateral Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America.