Micayla was born and raised in Lexington, KY, with family roots in central and eastern Kentucky. She attended Amherst College, where she received degrees (cum laude) in American Studies and Anthropology as well as a certificate in Native American and Indigenous Studies. After college, Micayla joined Teach for America's Greater New Orleans-Louisiana Delta subregion as a corps member. She spent nearly six years as a classroom teacher in Tallulah, LA and Vicksburg, MS. In 2019, Micayla earned her master’s degree in Education Policy and Leadership from American University. Micayla was a Policy Fellow and later a Senior Policy Fellow with Teach Plus Mississippi, where her work focused on social-emotional learning and teacher retention. She joined the staff of Mississippi First in early 2022 as the Associate Director of Early Childhood Policy. Micayla works with the executive director to develop and execute Mississippi First's early childhood policy agenda. In her free time, Micayla co-manages the Bettye Smith Brown Memorial Scholarship and enjoys her menagerie of pets.