As a lifelong advocate for adolescents, her work centers on contextual influences on the development of adolescent alcohol use. At the core of this research is exploring how the social and physical environment exerts risk and protective influences on youth drinking. Combining research and field-based experiences, the goal of this work is to inform public health policy and prevention programming to reduce the burdens and consequences of youth drinking. She received her BA in Sociology from Boston College, MPH in Health Education and Health Behavior from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and her PhD in Health Behavior from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC Chapel Hill.