John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. A native of southern Ontario, she completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph, and a teaching degree at the University of Toronto. This was followed by two years of teaching junior high school in the Northwest Territories and in downtown Toronto. Following this, she went back to school and did her graduate work (MSc and PhD) back at the University of Guelph, with a one-year stint at Duke University as a Fulbright Visiting Fellow.