A Native Hoosier, I graduated from Pike High School in Indianapolis. I attended Grinnell College in Iowa for my undergraduate degree in Political Science and Religious Studies.  I was a member of the Grinnell College Debate team, winning multiple debate team awards and participated in the American Parliamentary Debate Association finals.  I spent six months studying abroad in Puna, India.  Before law school, I lived in Indianapolis and Chicago working for Omni Hotels.

Volunteer service has always been important to me.  I have led and participated in service projects in Grinnell, Boston, San Francisco, Nashville, Quebec, and Indianapolis.  I am a member of the Junior League of Indianapolis, where I am currently serving as a member of the Membership Recruitment Committee.  I am a trained Guardian ad litem for Indiana children, serving as a volunteer GAL through Kids Voice.

During Law School, I participated in the Deans Tutorial Society, Equal Justice Works, the Environmental Law Society, and the International Law Society.  I served as Executive Articles Editor for Volume 21 of the Indiana International and Comparative Law Review. I interned at Indiana Legal Services, where I worked on cases in multiple practice areas, including family law. I clerked at Indiana Farm Bureau, Inc. where I learned a great deal about legal issues affecting Indiana's agricultural community.

My Mother, Donna Bays, is the founder of Bays Family Law.  My father is an architect, and I have two younger brothers.