 She attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she earned a BSJ and MSJ in 1992.Throughout college, she wrote for the sports section of the "Chicago Tribune" and was a member of Delta Zeta sorority.Her first job was on Capitol Hill, where she was the youngest congressional communications director, for Rep. Pete Geren (D-TX), who became the Secretary of the Army for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.