She is a native of Downers Grove, Illinois and returned back to Iowa after 6 years in Lubbock, Texas. She received her B.S. and M.S. in animal science and meat science at Iowa State University. She then obtained her PhD and completed a post doc in food microbiology from Texas Tech University. While at Texas Tech University she was the manager of the Food Pathogen Intervention Laboratory for 5 ½ years, taught many food safety courses, and provided food safety extension outreach to manufacturers throughout the U.S. and Mexico.