She studied at the Colegio Normal Rita Lecumberry, following which she taught Spanish, Ecuadorian history and natural sciences in primary and high school.
In 1963, she obtained a secondary school teaching certificate from the University of Guayaquil, and the following year, an undergraduate degree in botany.
Herrera-MacBryde worked at the Missouri Botanical Garden on taxonomy, before joining the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador at Quito, where she chaired the biology department between 1970–72.
[1] In 1976, Herrera-MacBryde represented Ecuador at the first conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
She edited a book on the Beni Biosphere Reserve in Bolivia, and reported on the Mayan forests of Mexico and Central America.