A cum laude graduate of Harvard University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in social relations, she earned her master's degree in human development and clinical psychology at the University of Chicago, where she completed her doctoral examination with honors. She provided psychological services for nonpublic schools for 15 years and also worked with adults in a community setting. She designed an alternative special education assistance program in a Montessori school and established a child development team providing evaluation, counseling and medical inservice presentations for a hospital outpatient pediatric clinic. She currently works with both children and adults and has a special interest and expertise in working with early childhood behavioral and developmental issues.