She received her Ph.D. in history from the University of Cincinnati with specialties in urban history and women's history. She has published numerous articles relating to the influence of faith in a person's life. Her book From a Park to a Stadium to a Little Piece of Heaven, on the history of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball stadiums as material culture will be published by Norther Illinois Press, spring 2014. Her current research is a biography on Sister Anna Rose Kraus, a Catholic nun who influenced the 20th century.