A graduate of St. Hubert's High School in Philadelphia, Sister Teresita joined Medical Mission Sisters at age 21, and received her R.N. from St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing. She became certified as a nurse-midwife at Holy Family Hospital in Dacca, Bangladesh, where she was a nurse supervisor for 6 years. She also held several administrative positions at St. Michael's Hospital in Bangladesh.

In 1969, Sister Teresita moved back to Philadelphia, serving as District Superior and as Administrator of Saint Vincent's Hospital, where she introduced a nurse-midwifery program. She worked for several years as a nurse-midwife at the Southeast Philadelphia Neighborhood Health Center, and then became Director of Nurse-Midwifery at Dover General Hospital in New Jersey. In 1981, she graduated from Temple University, where she earned her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Social Work.

Describing her mission as, "working at the policy level to effect better health care for poor women during pregnancy and childbirth," Sister Teresita became well known in the Philadelphia area as a local and state advocate on maternal/child health issues. She was Chairperson of the Policy Advisory Committee of the Maternity Care Coalition, and was also a member of the Mayor's Task Force for Infant Mortality, and the Maternal/Child Health Advisory Council for the State Department of Health.

Sister Teresita began 22 years of service at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Nursing in 1982. For over a decade, she had primary responsibility for recruiting midwifery students, and for mentoring work-study students. She also taught graduate courses on Public Policy and Health Care.

Sister Teresita has recently taken a course on the trafficking of women and children, and is planning involvements that will help to raise awareness about these issues.