She earned a B.S. in Secondary Education with a major in Special Education from Baylor University and was a middle and high school special educator for students identified as having learning, behavioral, and emotional challenges. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Research from The University of Tennessee in Knoxville where she taught educational psychology courses and supervised middle school student teachers. Her dissertation research, entitled Excluded Students’ Experiences with In-School Suspension: A Phenomenological Investigation, examined the experiences of middle school students who had spent extensive time in in-school suspension. She has published several articles and regularly presents at conferences on issues related to teacher development, restorative justice, and the intersections of race, disability, and school and classroom discipline practices.