She earned her LL.M. and International Human Rights Certificate at Georgetown, J.D. and M.A. at Michigan, and B.A. at Yale. She taught at Georgetown Law and Georgetown University, and served as executive director of the Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program, as legislative counsel for a Member of Congress, as legislative counsel for a public interest organization in Washington, DC, and as a lawyer with a Detroit firm. She is a member of Sharon Lutheran Church and lives in Grand Forks with her husband and daughter.