She graduated with a B.A. in Political Science/Spanish from the University of Wisconsin, Madison; a M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles; and a J.D. from University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. After law school, Ms. Buckles worked as an employment litigator, first the Internal Revenue Service and later for Pepper Hamilton in Philadelphia. She then worked as an associate for Gallagher, Schoenfeld, Surkin, Chupein & DeMis in Media, Pennsylvania. Upon moving to Spokane, Washington, she joined Matrical Bioscience where she was corporate counsel and oversaw all aspects of the administration of the business, including human resources. Upon the sale of Matrical Bioscience, she helped start 2nd Sight BioScience with Dr. Kevin Oldenburg.