She graduated from Miss Porter's School, and she was a speech and drama teacher at various women's colleges from 1916 onwards, including Simmons University (then College) (1916–1921), Milwaukee-Downer College (1921–1928) (now part of Lawrence University), Scripps College (1932–1934), and Smith College (1936–1942), as well as the all-girls Concord Academy and Abbot Academy preparatory schools at the end of her teaching career.