Born in the Bronx, NY and raised in
Natick, Massachusetts, she graduated from
Emerson College in 1971 with a BA. She received an Honorary
Doctorate of Humane Letters from
Becker College in
Worcester, Massachusetts. She said “the only reason I went to college at all is that my parents wanted me to be the first in my family to get a degree.“ She intended to major in speech pathology and audiology but ended up majoring in psychology with minors in English and History. She credits two
Natick High School teachers with her success. ==Career==