Prior to joining the faculty at Tennessee, she worked for the American Association of Retired Persons on their health care reform efforts. Her passion for research (and evaluation) has blossomed into a desire to make sure all of her students are equipped to be competent consumers of the research around them. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. She received the Outstanding Educator award from the Tennessee Communication Association and her work has been published in the Journal of Applied Communication Research, Management Communication Quarterly, Communication Education, and Communication Research Reports.