She was born in Germany and immigrated to Canada with her parents while she was in high school. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Alberta in 2002 and worked for several years in rural and remote places, including stints on Baffin Island. In 2015 she spent six months working for Doctors without Borders in a camp for internally displaced persons in South Sudan. She is interested in global justice and working with underprivileged populations.