Willauer attended Berry College in Georgia, graduating with a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1996. In mid-1999 she participated in the 11th International Conference on Partitioning in Aqueous Two-Phase Systems, held in Gulf Shores, Alabama. In 2002, she earned a doctorate in analytical chemistry from the University of Alabama, writing her thesis on "Fundamentals of phase behavior and solute partitioning in ABS and applications to the paper industry," the "ABS" an abbreviation for "aqueous biphasic systems". She began working with the NRL as an associate, then in 2004 she advanced to the position of research chemist.