In 2009, Richardson received her Ph.D. from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill. She was a postdoctoral scholar at the Carolina Population Center from 2009-2012 and in the Department of Sociology from 2010-2012. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Biology from Stanford University, and master’s degrees in Public Health and Anthropology from Emory University and UNC-Chapel Hill. Prior to and while obtaining her Ph.D., she worked as an applied research and evaluation consultant to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Cancer Society, and several universities.