She joined the full time faculty of Madonna University in 2015. She completed her juris doctorate degree in 1996 from the University of Memphis, and her bachelor of science in criminal justice in 1993 from the University of Tennessee. She teaches in the areas of criminal and constitutional law, as well as homeland security and terrorism. She began her career as a child advocacy attorney in Tennessee, and then became a Special Agent for both the FBI and the CIA. She was also an executive in the financial industry in the field of financial crimes compliance, leading efforts to predict, deter and respond to fraud, money laundering, and terrorism financing.