She earned her Master of Social Work and Doctorate in social work from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. She also completed a Mental Health Services Research fellowship with the National Institute of Mental Health. She currently teaches Research Methods and Substance Abuse classes at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and serves as the co-director the Chemical Dependency Certificate Program at Cleveland State University. Her current research focuses on substance use disorders; mental health issues; and children, youth, and families.