Monica is Professor of Law, Associate Professor of Sociology, and Counselor to the Dean at Yale Law School. She completed her PhD in Sociology and Social Policy at Harvard, where she studied policing, police-community relations in the context of disadvantage, and the intersection of policing with related fields such as family, housing, and social services provision. Monica is a 2005 Mitchell Scholar. She received a Master's Degree in Equality Studies from University College Dublin. The course, combining sociology, economics, politics and feminist theory, provided those active in community projects with the academic framework to underpin and guide their work. Monica interned with AKIDWA, a national network of migrant women living in Ireland, and worked on a variety of initiatives and outreach programs.

After her Mitchell Scholarship year, Monica attended Yale Law School. Prior to the Mitchell, she received her undergraduate degree from Furman University.