She has been an RN for over 30 years, and an educator for fifteen years. She graduated with a baccalaureate degree from SUNY-Binghamton in 1982, followed by clinical practice in acute care pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital. She further specialized in pediatric oncology, pediatric ICU, and pediatric community health. She then turned her attention to research, working under a two-year grant with a team of researchers in endocrine research, resulting in publication of results in two scholarly journals.