She graduated Middletown High School in 1979 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Connecticut in 1983.
She rose through the ranks to become the first African American woman to serve as sergeant (1996), lieutenant (2004), or major (2011) in the Connecticut State Police.
[2][1][4][5] She earned a master's degree in criminal justice administration from Western New England College in 1997 and graduated from the FBI National Academy in 2011.
Given her law enforcement career, she sought to enlist in the Military Police Corps but was rejected because at 5'2, she failed the height requirement by two inches.
[3] From May 2009 to August 2010, Rush-Kittle served as Command Sergeant Major (the US Army's highest enlisted rank) of the 321st Military Intelligence Battalion, currently based in Arizona.
[7] In November 2021, Mayor Justin Elicker appointed Rush-Kittle to be chief administrative officer of New Haven, Connecticut, overseeing two-thirds of the city's public employees.