She received a B.A. degree with honors in Geological Sciences from Albion College in Michigan, an M.S. in Geography and a Ph.D. in Climatology from the University of Delaware. As a UNH faculty member in the College of Liberal Arts, she teaches courses on weather, climate, natural hazards and land surface processes. Her research in climate system science uses observations and climate system models to study atmospheric boundary layer processes and the surface-atmosphere energy balance over snow and ice. As the New Hampshire State Climatologist, her research focuses on the development of climate service products in support of state environmental monitoring, planning and adaptation activities.