She graduated with her Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of South Florida in 2009. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature in 2001 and Master of Arts in Industrial and Organizational Psychology in 2004, all from Beijing Normal University, China. In addition, she worked as a part-time project manager for the public and private sectors in China from 2001 to 2004 and worked as a full-time research associate for the Human Resource Research Organization in Summer 2006.