Coleman earned her bachelor's degree in Afro-American Studies from Harvard-Radcliffe College in 1995, her Master of Divinity and Certificate in Religion, Gender, and Sexuality from Vanderbilt University Divinity School in 1998, and both her Master of Arts and PhD in Philosophy of Religion and Theology from Claremont Graduate University in 2004.

Part of Coleman's work has been training church staff and congregants on how to care for and support individuals who have experienced sexual violence.

[6] While she was a student at Vanderbilt University Divinity School in 1997, she created a ministry focused on sexual assault called "The Dinah Project" at Metropolitan Interdenominational Church in Nashville, Tennessee.

[6] In 2004, Coleman published The Dinah Project: A Handbook for Congregational Response to Sexual Violence.

[9] In 2004, after completing her PhD at Claremont Graduate University, Coleman became an assistant professor of religion at Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina.