She graduated from UCSB in 2007 with a degree in English and wrote for several publications in print and online in Chicago (including a staff writer position at Ragan.com). She returned to California in 2010 to pursue her master's in urban planning and transportation from UCLA. Shortly after moving she was diagnosed with pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer. She blogs about her cancer experience at iamaliver.com and about transportation planning at LA Streetsblog.