Cheryl obtained a B.A. in Psychology from Arkansas Tech University, USA, and a Master’s Degree in Counsellor Education from The University of Arkansas at Little Rock, USA. Following this, she was an Evaluation Specialist for government funded grants for 2 years in The Office of Behavioural Research and Evaluation. During this time, she managed the evaluation of individual grants to help meet their goals, and improve their initiatives across community, state, and regional levels. She returned to Ireland in 2018 when she obtained a role in Grant Project Management in the University College Dublin.