Monica trained initially in hospitality management in the UK. She did further post graduate training with a large multiple retailer in the UK and held various supervisory and management roles, before heading to Australia for a year. Upon her return to the UK she successfully gained a full assistantship at Huddersfield University and gained a Post Graduate Diploma in Research followed by an MPhil within a management discipline.

Following this she was recruited into a London Local Authority as a Health Promotion Officer. She moved from here to the Heath Authority where she managed various teams and portfolios. A secondment followed into the national health promotion agency for the UK. She was then recruited into a position in New Zealand purchasing public health services for the South Island. She was seconded to manage various national projects while working at the RHA / HFA and MoH.

She also completed an MSc during this time majoring in Health Promotion through the University of East London. Monica then moved to Auckland to head up the Auckland Regional Public Health Service, a complex regional provider with some 300 staff delivering a vast range of health promotion and health protection services across the region. She left to spend more time with her pre-school child and went onto contract and worked at the Heart Foundation managing their Education Setting portfolio. From here she moved to take up the role as CEO of the YWCA Auckland. She has also held governance roles within the NFP sector for the New Zealand AIDS Foundation (Deputy Chair) and the Public Health Association of New Zealand (President).