Born, raised, and educated in the "Heart of America" - Kansas City, Missouri - Dr. Lally always dreamed of far away places. After finishing her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Education at the University of Missouri at Kansas City, she worked for several years in Grandview and Lee's Summit, Missouri as a junior high English teacher and Reading Specialist. She then moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and worked in various capacities with the Teton County School District, the C-V School for students with special needs, and the Jackson Hole Ski Corporation. Contacts made in Wyoming led her to Asia where she spent 14 years teaching ESL in China, Thailand, and Japan. Being an avid photographer, she traveled extensively in Asia, Australia, and the Far East and documented a variety of cultural experiences in over 1000 photographs.

From 1995-2000, she commuted between Tokyo and San Diego and completed her Doctorate in Education from San Diego State University and the University of San Diego. She repatriated to the United States in April, 2000 and completed a training course in February, 2001 as a Certified Online Instructor. Currently, Dr. Lally is working with the SDSU Interwork Institute Center for Distance Learning and Center for Pacific Studies as a web-based instructional designer, program coordinator for Pacific programs, and instructor. Her research interests center around providing web-based educational experiences that address cultural differences in distance learning, ESL, and exploring instructional standards for online educators.