As associate director for the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM), she managed the National Catholic Youth Conference, the largest regular gathering of Catholic young people in the United States.

While on staff at the NFCYM, she advocated for the needs of young people in the areas of liturgy, music, and vocations. She coordinated vocation and membership programs for Serra International. She taught courses in prayer and worship, Christology, Scripture, and Christian Lifestyles at Resurrection High School, Chicago, Illinois, and coordinated the liturgical life of the school while there.

A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, she holds a master's degree in liturgy from Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, Illinois, and an MBA from Loyola University in Maryland.