Cynthia received her BA in Political Science from the University of Minnesota and MA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. On the same day she received her undergraduate diploma, she was commissioned as an officer in the US Air Force where she served for 17 years (and continues to serve) on both active duty and in the Reserves in jobs relating to human resources and foreign affairs, a significant portion of which she was an assistant professor of Political Science at the US Air Force Academy. Her research interests and teaching specialties are European politics, specifically politics of NATO and the EU, American government, and democratization. She is an avid runner and skier, both cross-country and downhill.