She came to Bradley after teaching a year at the University of Northern Iowa where she also earned her B.A. and her Master’s degree in Sociology. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 2009, specializing in theory, gender, and political sociology. While at KU, she was honored by the Midwest Sociological Society and the American Sociological Association Section on the Family for her qualitative research examining identity issues of parental caregivers.