Carlisle-Hollenbeck attended the University of California, Santa Barbara where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music with an emphasis on vocal performance.

She earned a Master of Arts degree in teaching with honors in 2007 at Bethany University in Scotts Valley, California.

Carlisle-Hollenbeck had met Los Angeles booking agent, Howard King, in 1987, who offered her a contract playing piano in hotels in Sweden through Live Nation, formerly EMA-Telstar.

She and her band performed at Sweden's Peace & Love (festival), as well as touring Northern and Southern California promoting Roll With The Flow, which included night clubs, LA's Viper Room and Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz.

At the height of Brooks music career, having a #1 radio hit, "Bitch," Carlisle-Hollenbeck sang background vocals at such concerts as the 1999 Lilith Fair tour and on Penn and Teller.

Carlisle-Hollenbeck's music education advocacy began in 1985 while she was attending the University of California, Santa Barbara earning her Bachelor of Arts degree.

Scotts Valley High School was awarded the Grammy Foundation Signature Enterprise Award which includes a Grammy Statue, $5,500 grant, and a plaque that reads Designed to Honor High School Music Programs That are Underfunded by the State but Still Have Successful Music Programs Despite the Lack of Funding.

[2][3][4] Carlisle-Hollenbeck began reaching out to additional non-profit organizations such as the NAMM Foundation on behalf of Scotts Valley High School for support of the newly developed recording arts program.

Carlisle-Hollenbeck was a featured speaker for the NAMM Foundation's Education Day in 2015 speaking on the topic, Building a Recording Studio at Your School.

[6][7] Carlisle-Hollenbeck partnered with Kiwanis to raise funds for music education for the Scotts Valley Unified School District.

They raised approximately $20,000 a year for the school's music departments through their concert series at Skypark in Scotts Valley, CA.