Dr. Everett received her B.A. degree in 1973 from the University of Delaware with a double major in English and Mass Communications. In 1975, she earned an M.A. degree in Mass Communications from the same school and taught there for one year.  Dr. Everett was awarded a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Kentucky in 1993. 

Dr. Everett started with EKU in 1981 as a Visiting Instructor, was promoted to Assistant Professor in 1983, was tenured in 1984, promoted to Associate Professor in 1995 and full professor in 2002. Dr. Everett has been chair of the Department of Communication since 1999. 

In addition to her academic work, Dr. Everett brings a great deal of practical experience to her teaching and administrative work. She was a copywriter for WVLK AM/FM in Lexington for several years. And then, served as a broadcast coordinator for a local chain of department stores writing copy, producing television and radio commercials and doing media-planning and buying. Dr. Everett also worked as a free lance advertising consultant for a local outdoor retailer. She has been on the faculty at Eastern Kentucky University since 1981 and has served as chair of the Department of Communication since 2000. She currently sits on the Board of the Lexington Advertising Club (AAF) and maintains memberships with both the Kentucky Press Association and the Kentucky Broadcasting Association. 

Her research interests involve message design, use of the Internet as a marketing/advertising tool, and sensation-seeking.