[2] Massie earned a French Baccalaureat and attended Cornell University, where she studied US History and won several honors upon her graduation in 1989.

She enrolled in a Ph.D. program in History at the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, which she left in 1991 with a master's degree.

[citation needed] Massie moved to Detroit, Michigan to work as a civil rights impact litigator.

Her lead counsel roles included the representation of the student intervenors in the University of Michigan Law School affirmative action case, Grutter v. Bollinger,[3][4] which resulted in a 2003 Supreme Court decision.

[12][13][14][15] Massie's civil rights impact advocacy and her cultural work on climate have been featured in a variety of print, radio, and television news outlets.