She holds a Masters degree from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, CA. Prior to returning to school to become a PA, she earned a BS in Journalism at KU and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. She also holds a Master of Fine Arts from KU and spent many years teaching college level art and media courses in the Seattle area and in LA. She also ran a video production company focusing on medical issues and producing videos for hospitals in Seattle. Many years ago, she also spent 10 years at sea in the Merchant Marine, mainly as a Radio Operator, circumnavigating South America 10+ times and shipping to Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong many times. She has spent the majority of her career in medicine in community clinics in California and was the HIV/AIDS provider at her previous clinic in the Sierra foothills.