Carlson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1982 and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1989.

[3] Her work representing Emil Stache and Almon Muelhausen in a case under the False Claims Act against Teledyne Industries[4] was featured in the book The Giantkillers.

Carlson's scholarship examines unusual arrangements of federalism, evaluation of domestic environmental law and policy, and climate change.

[6] Carlson served as a panelist for the influential National Academy of Sciences committee on Limiting the Magnitude of Climate Change.

[14] During her tenure, the NHTSA has accelerated its probe into Tesla's Autopilot technology to ensure that drivers are paying adequate attention to the road.