She received a B.S. (cum laude) in Speech Communication from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (1999), an M.S. in Speech Communication from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2001), and a Ph.D. in Speech Communication from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2006). Her teaching and research interests include critical communication pedagogy, communication and identity (particularly disability), and automethods. She is also the director of the CMST 101 introductory communication course. She is currently working on several projects, including an ethnography of Rainbow Cafe (a local LGBT youth organization).