Nicola R. Matthews received a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 2002 and continued her studies at Buffalo State where she was awarded a Master's degree in Economics and Finance in 2009. She received her Ph.D. in 2018 at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Before arriving at Cal Poly Humboldt, she taught economics at Metropolitan Community College, UMKC, Rockhurst University and Park University.