A native North Carolinian, Elizabeth spent her childhood in Raleigh, North Carolina. A graduated of Meredith College and Duke University (Ph.D.), she is a retired professor at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. She continues to instruct Social and Emotional Learning curricula for elementary-schools in Massachusetts and is a candidate for the degree of Masters of Social Work at Simmons College in Boston. Married to Lalon Barnes, she lives with her husband and two daughters.