She has her master's degree in Atlantic Canada Studies from St. Mary's University, and received her Canadian Securities license after leaving government in 1997.
Brushett ran again in the 2000 and 2004 federal elections, but was defeated both times.
[3] She previously served as the president of the Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley Liberal Association, ending in 2007.
She was a cancer survivor and lived in Truro, Nova Scotia.
She died there on July 11, 2017, at the age of 74, having been diagnosed with leukemia 14 months prior.