She currently serves as the Michael L. Smith Managing Director of the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities at the University of Notre Dame, which conducts rigorous impact evaluations that identify the innovative, effective, and scalable programs and policies across the United States that help people move permanently out of poverty.  She also serves as a Senior Advisor to the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, a global venture philanthropy firm supporting early stage, high impact social enterprises, where she was previously a Managing Director leading their Texas office. 

She is a veteran of the White House, U.S. Department of Education, and Capitol Hill,where she developed her expertise in education policy. She was the Executive Director of the George W. Bush Institute and served on the White House Domestic Policy Council staff and as Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Department of Education. Prior to that, she worked for two United States Senators on domestic policy issues and consulted on education and workforce issues with major foundations, companies, nonprofits, and policymakers.