She received her B.A. in Psychology from Boston University in 1993 and her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Connecticut in 2001 with Dr. Barbara Sanders. She was a postdoctoral researcher at Haskins Laboratories from 2002-2004, working with the fMRI group led by Dr. Ken Pugh. She has been at Southern since 2004. Her primary research interests are reading skill in college-aged students and in literacy development in children. She is also the co-author of the book, Preparing Children for Reading Success: Hands-On Activities for Librarians, Educators, and Caregivers.