Rebecca has a doctorate in English literature from Cornell University. Her dissertation won an honorable mention in the Guilford Dissertation Contest for excellence in English prose. She teaches Art of Narrative I and II, as well as assorted one-day workshops.

She has taught at Cornell University and Hobart and William Smith Colleges.With a Fulbright travel grant, she spent a year teaching English to high school students in Hamburg, Germany. She teaches at Lighthouse Writers Workshop.

Since 2003, she has been staff reporter for the Journal of Environmental Health. Her work appeared in Five Fingers Review and Word Riot.