She received her Ph.D. in Policy Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2009. Her research interests are in the area of fiscal federalism, state and local government finance, nonprofit financial management, and economic development. Her work has appeared in public administration, budgeting and finance journals, including Public Finance Review, American Review of Public Administration, Public Finance and Management, and Municipal Finance Journal. Dr. Sun also holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from Auburn University, a M.A. and a B.A. in International Relations from Peking University, Beijing, China. She worked as Assistant Professor at Georgia Southern University and University of Central Florida before joining in the CSUDH.