She earned her Masters of Science in Nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1979. She also earned her BSN from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1975. She has served as adjunct faculty for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga School of Nursing since 2007. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, Zeta Alpha Chapter and the Tennessee Nurses Association.