She received her Bachelor of Arts in early childhood education with honors from Queens College in 1972. She worked as an elementary school teacher in the City School District of the City of New York for five years, until her job was eliminated during the city's fiscal crisis in the 1970s. She then moved to Los Angeles to attend Loyola Law School, where she received a full scholarship and earned her Juris Doctor in 1980.
She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in early childhood education with honors from Queens College in 1972. She worked as an elementary school teacher for five years before being laid off during the city's financial downturn in the 1970s. She then relocated to Los Angeles to attend Loyola Law School, where she received a full scholarship and earned her law degree in 1980.