She is originally from Oak Ridge, Tennessee (of the Manhattan Project) and received her Bachelors in Economics from American University, Washington DC in 1977. After working as an Economist for USDA for several years, she decided to change career directions. She returned to school at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana for a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture, graduating in 1983. After working for several Landscape Architectural firms in Denver and Fort Collins, Elizabeth found a home at CSU where she has been teaching in the Landscape Design and Contracting (LDC) concentration since 1987. Elizabeth has taught a variety of courses over the years including technical subjects such as grading/drainage and computers, design studios incorporating plants and graphics, and more academic courses such as the History of Landscape Design or Design for Non-majors.