In 1997, she received her Ph.D. in criminology, law and society from the University of California, Irvine. She received her M.A. in clinical psychology from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She currently teaches a variety of courses in the criminal justice program; including White-Collar Crime, Juvenile Justice Administration, Nature and Causes of Crime, Judicial Administration, Research Methods, Contemporary Issues in Policing, Victimless Crime, and Women & Crime.