She has a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an M.A.T. in mathematics education from Tufts University, Medford, Mass., and an M.S. in mathematics from California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena. She has previously taught as an adjunct professor for ITT Technical College in Wilmington, Mass., at Nashua (N.H.) Community College and at Manchester (Conn.) Community College. She also was an online instructor for the University of Phoenix in Nashua, N.H., and taught mathematics for eight years in the public schools of both Nashua and Buffalo, N.Y.