I graduated from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, with a Bachelor of Science in Marine Science with a concentration in Biology and minor in Environmental Studies.  I continued studying at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, earning a Master of Science in Environmental Science with a concentration in Field Ecology.

After being in Florida and Indiana, I found my first career job halfway between them in Tennessee.  I worked for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division of Community Assistance under a Pollution Prevention grant from the EPA for my first several years.  I found a promotional opportunity in a growing Environmental Epidemiology Program within the Tennessee Department of Health.  I now am the program’s Assistant Director and manage our Cooperative Agreement with the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.  I answer environmental public health questions through investigations of hazardous waste sites across the ninety-five counties of Tennessee.