Kayla earned her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She worked as a mental health therapist at Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute (SLBMI), an affiliate of Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center, after she completed postgraduate and advanced postgraduate fellowships with their Center for OCD and Anxiety-Related Disorders. Kayla researched the dissemination & implementation (D&I) of Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP), patient and clinician telehealth preferences, and the augmentation of ERP with peer-led OCD support groups.

Prior to earning her MSW, Kayla worked as a clinical research coordinator on diabetes clinical trials in addition to fundraising and grassroots advocacy for both the American Diabetes Association and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies from Nebraska Wesleyan University. Kayla is interested in D&I research, especially with mental health services, to help close the research to practice gap.