She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from Colorado State University and her Master of Arts in Human Communication from the University of Denver. Her PhD from Clark University is in Women and Gender Studies. The overarching theme for her research is how digital communication influences, and is influenced by, the rhetoric of everyday life. Tess is active in the cultural community as patron, consumer, and colleague. She teaches Intercultural communication at UOIT as well as courses relating to cultural identities. She is the UOIT representative on the CLC.