Her research interests include nonformal and community-based adult education, art-based learning, and issues of feminism, globalization, and social justice. As a former mathematics faculty member, she also continues interdisciplinary collaborations in STEM education in university and community college settings. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, her master’s degree in Computational and Applied Mathematics from the University of Texas, Austin, and her doctorate in Educational Human Resource Development, with a specialization in Adult Education, from Texas A&M University.