Norma holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Southern Oregon University. Before joining St. Olaf, Norma led and collaborated in projects related to quality improvement, strategic planning, and curriculum design in higher education in Mexico; worked at a culture-oriented publishing company in Hawaii; and developed bilingual training and initial orientation for a multinational company in the furniture industry in Wisconsin. Since 2015, she has supported initiatives and developed programming to foster student leadership development, and multicultural/international student engagement at St. Olaf.