She holds a BA from Trinity College in Hartford, CT (with Honors in General Scholarship and Phi Beta Kappa) and a PhD from Stony Brook University. She has dedicated her professional and private lives to empowering the marginalized and the politically underrepresented through her pedagogy, research, and service. Her recent awards include the Podesto Award for Excellence in Student Life, Mentoring, and Counseling and the Adaljiza Sosa-Riddell Award for Exemplary Mentoring of Latino/a Students in Political Science. Her current research is focused on the civic impact of foreclosure in California's Central San Joaquin Valley.