She has a Doctorate in Philosophy from Rutgers University, specializing in Cognitive Developmental Psychology, a Masters in Science from Indiana University in Criminal Justice, a Masters in Art from Ohio University in Experimental Psychology, and undergraduate degrees in both Early Childhood Education and in Psychology from SUNY-Buffalo. Dr. Shapiro has taught at a number of colleges and universities. She had been teaching Criminal Justice courses as full time faculty at King Graduate School of Monroe College for several years prior to joining John Jay College in the spring of 2015 as an Adjunct and as full-time faculty in the fall of 2015. Dr. Shapiro had also served as Adjunct faculty at Colorado State University Global Campus, teaching and designing courses in Criminal Justice and in Human Development for undergraduate and graduate students.