She is from Roanoke, Virginia. She did her under-graduate work at Roanoke College, Hollins College, and the University of Virginia. While in law school, she has held the the Stivers and Hyman scholarships and is a candidate for the Tennessee Law Review. She participated in the Law Day Arguments and won the Trusts award. She has worked as reporter on Greenbrier Independent and the Beckley Post-Herals, the Office of the General Counsel, the U.S. Department of Energy. She is also a concert and incident singer.