She received certificates in Child Care, Behavior Modification and Economic Development from Temple.
She was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 181 in November 1987 and served through 1988.
She served until November 2016 when she retired from the Pennsylvania State Senate.
[3] She was the second African-American woman to serve in the Pennsylvania State Senate and at the time of her retirement, was the only African-American woman member of the Senate.
[2] She worked as the Manager for the Management Information Systems Department of the Philadelphia Parking Authority from 1990 to 1992 and as Director of Constituent Services for the Philadelphia City Council from 1992 to 1996.