Prior to earning her PhD in Social Work from Wayne State University in 2013, she worked as a therapist for the Community Mental Health System in Wayne County. Influenced by this work, her research focuses primarily on extreme poverty and inequality in the United States, especially among individuals in recovery from mental health and substance use disorders. Her recent publications have explored the interaction of race, gender, and mental health disorders on economic and labor market disparities, changes in social welfare policy and the well-being of working women, and the role of medical social workers in providing care for clients with heart failure. She hopes her research will help strengthen national policies that inform economic equality and availability of public mental health services.