She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Castleton State College, as well as her M.S. in Applied Educational Psychology and Ph.D. in School Psychology from the University of Tennessee. After graduating in the Fall of 2011, Dr. McCleary was a school psychologist in a small, rural public school serving students pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. She also served a large, rural public school system as a behavior specialist serving students in grades pre-kindergarten through twelfth. Additionally, Dr. McCleary served on the board of directors of an APA and APPIC approved pre-doctoral internship in school psychology. Dr. McCleary has published over a dozen peer-reviewed journal articles.