She previously taught at the University of Southern Mississippi in the Higher Education Student Affairs program. Her research and publications primarily interrogate issues of environment, equity, and access for Deaf students, faculty, and staff with a particular interest in the intersections of race, gender, and sexual orientation. She is also interested in racialized mentoring and disability broadly. Stapleton has been actively involved in committees, presenting, and leadership within the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) and ACPA—College Student Educators International for several years.