She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree while she was a member of Penn State's Psychology Honors Program.
[6] Hired by Montgomery College in 1986, she held various positions in administration, budget and finance, planning, and resource development between 1986 and 2007.
Only the sixth person to ever hold this senior-level management position, she was selected for the job following a nationwide search process that was conducted by the college's board of trustees.
[7][8] During her tenure as president, Montgomery College strengthened the college's general education curriculum and faculty development programs, improved fund development efforts to raise millions of dollars in grants and financial contributions from individual and corporate donors, planned and built new high technology and instructional facilities, including the Information Technology Institute, initiated a new college honors program, collaborated with multiple state universities to offer daytime baccalaureate degree programs in Montgomery County for the first time, including the Universities at Shady Grove.
[11] Nunley has also served on the boards of directors of multiple professional and nonprofit organizations in the region, including the:[12] Nunley has received multiple awards and other honors during her career, including a nomination by the Baltimore-based newspaper, the Daily Record, as one of "Maryland's Top 100 Women" for the year 2001.