Duke has worked with children in early childhood, elementary and secondary settings, most recently as a Primary Grades Literacy Specialist and Director of the Literacy Institute at the Neighborhood House Charter School in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Duke earned her masters and doctorate in Language and Literacy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and, for two years, served as a Supervisor at the Harvard Literacy Laboratory. Duke\'s research focuses on early literacy development, particularly among children living in urban poverty. Her specific areas of expertise include addressing the needs of struggling reader-writers and the development of informational literacy.