She has been active in the field since the mid-1980s, working in northern California and Massachusetts in public and private settings. Her research interests are in community-based research, home-visitation programs, early parenthood, culturally-sensitive clinical skills, and the experiences of refugees throughout the life course. Her field and academic experiences are in the areas of addictions, health care that addresses the physical-emotional-social-economic well-being of the individual, feminism, relational-cultural theory, social justice, direct practice skills, and program evaluation.