I attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where I studied engineering and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre. While at Vanderbilt, I was the Associate Editor of Vanderbilt’s student newspaper, performed in, wrote, and directed several plays and short films.

After I graduated from Vanderbilt, I spent the summer in Israel on an archaeological excavation before moving to Spokane.  I continued to perform in, write, and direct plays.  In the summer of 2005, I studied acting at the Michael Howard Studio in New York.  Shortly after returning to Spokane, Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans.  I volunteered with the Red Cross and spent a month in San Antonio working in a shelter for evacuees.

In 2009, I enrolled at Gonzaga University School of Law. While at Gonzaga, I interned with the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, externed at Division III of the Washington Court of Appeals, served as chair of the Alliance for Social Justice, was a semi-finalist on the National Tax Moot Court, earned CALI Awards for Excellence in Business Associations and Constitutional Law II, and successfully argued in front of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. I graduated magna cum laude from Gonzaga.

From 2012-2019, I worked as a trial lawyer at Dunn & Black, P.S., where I successfully litigated or settled many high-profile cases. In August 2020, I started my own mediation practice and opened Childress Dispute Resolution, PLLC.

In March 2021, I joined Gravis Law, PLLC as a senior attorney focusing on civil litigation, dispute resolution, and appellate work.