Rosenstengel received a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, in 1990 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

She received a Juris Doctor, cum laude, in 1993 from the Southern Illinois University School of Law.

She was an associate at the law firm of Sandberg, Phoenix & von Gontard from 1993 to 1998, where her practice primarily involved products liability, medical malpractice and Jones Act litigation.

[1][2] On November 7, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Rosenstengel to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois,[1] to the seat that was vacated by Judge G. Patrick Murphy, who would assumeme senior status on December 1, 2013.

[8] She became chief judge on April 1, 2019, after Michael Joseph Reagan retired.