Heather graduated magna cum laude from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and minors in Art & Design and Journalism, and was inducted into the Phi Eta Sigma Honors Fraternity. Heather received her Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina School of Law.

While in law school, Heather was a staff writer and later served as Publication Editor of the North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology. Also during law school, Heather worked at the Capital Litigation/Federal Habeas Corpus Division of the North Carolina Attorney General's office. Heather co-founded an organization, Graduate2Graduate, which paired law school students with local high school students who were targeted as being academically at risk. She also volunteered to work on various pro bono projects and worked at the UNC Civil Litigation Clinic. Before law school, Heather worked as a communications intern at the North Carolina Arts Council and as a Medicare specialist at a pharmaceutical manufacturing company in Research Triangle Park.

Currently, Heather is assisting with the launch of Lawyers 4 Literacy in Wake County, which is a volunteer organization that pairs lawyers in the area with elementary school children in an effort to increase literacy and interest in civics and history. She is a member of the North Carolina State Bar, North Carolina Bar Association, Wake County Bar Association and the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys. She is admitted to practice in the United States District Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina.