Formerly she was the CEO and Medical Center Director for the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, a tertiary care teaching hospital serving Veterans in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. In 2016, she retired from the U.S. Army Medical Specialist Corps at the rank of Colonel, after 30 years of highly decorated service at numerous locations around the country and overseas. During that time, she was CEO and commander of two military treatment facilities, served as the senior U.S. Army medical leader in Japan, and worked in the Office of the Army Surgeon General as a senior policy analyst and later as Director for Strategic Outreach and Communications. She also completed fellowships with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the American Dietetic Association, and an administrative residency at PacifiCare of Texas. She has received a MHA from Baylor University, a dual MA in Management and Human Resources Development from Webster University, and a BS in Nutrition from Cornell University. She is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and has actively served on several national ACHE committees.