She holds a BA from UCLA, an MBA from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and a PhD from the University of California, Irvine. Her research focuses on strategic service operations by integrating resource-based view of the firm with social networks analysis. She studies service experiences as well as the collaborative and knowledge management processes that coincide with service. Using multimethod research, she combines predictive modeling and qualitative data analysis. Before entering academia, she had a successful media sales, tourism, and international event management career. After working with media giants Clear Channel Communications and Raycom Media, she began her own agency working across the entertainment, tourism, nonprofit, retailing, and manufacturing sectors.