She received a BA in Women's Studies from the University of California, San Diego, and an MA and PhD in History from the University of California, Santa Cruz.  She is a former Affiliated Scholar with the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at Stanford University and has taught courses in U.S. history, cultural and intellectual history, and women's history at UCSC and at Cabrillo College. Since 2006 she has served as a consultant-reviewer for Legacy: A Journal of American Women Writers.