[1] From 1979 to 1981, while completing her master's degree in physical education, Burns served as a graduate assistant at Ohio State.
[3][4] Burns founded BBHoops, a fitness and basketball instruction business in San Diego, after leaving Ohio State.
In 2004, Burns joined Tara VanDerveer's staff at Stanford as strength and conditioning coach.
That season the team was an 11 seed in the NCAA Women's Tournament with an opening round match-up versus the sixth-seeded Texas Lady Longhorns, with San Diego State winning 74–63.
[5] After three seasons at USC, Burns joined Louisville as assistant strength and conditioning coach.
[11] On February 19, 2014, Burns filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against San Diego State University, alleging: "SDSU fired her in retaliation for her unwavering demands that SDSU put women’s basketball and men’s athletics on an equal footing.