She studied piano at the Manhattan School of Music and German language, culture, and literature at Columbia University in New York City. At Northwestern University, she has taught courses at all levels, coordinated Beginning and Intermediate German, served as the director of the summer program Berlin: Global City in the Center of Europe, and is currently directing the German Department Writing Center. She has been elected to the Associated Student Government Faculty Honor Roll seven times since 2003 and received the Northwestern Alumni Association Teaching Award in 2005. In 2009, she received the national AATG/Goethe-Institute Certificate of Merit Award. She was selected a Charles Deering McCormick University Distinguished Lecturer for Teaching Excellence at Northwestern University (2011-2012) and a faculty fellow for the Center for Civic Engagement (2012-2014).