Prior to joining Mercy For Animals, Stefanie was a litigation fellow for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and law clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, Irvine, School of Law. She also has a Masters in Animals and Public Policy at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, and a B.A. from Harvard University, where she studied biological anthropology and women, gender, and sexuality studies.