Emma obtained a BA First Class Honours from McGill University, where she majored in Cultural Studies and minored in Art History and Gender, Sexuality, Feminist and Social Justice Studies. Her undergraduate thesis, Permanent Excess, explores how film and media representations of Florida influences and interact with the experience of the state for tourists and locals alike. Her primary research interests are post-millennium American films, tourism studies, film space and geography, architecture, hyperrealism, and surrealism.

Emma concurrently works professionally in the fashion and arts sectors. She has experience working for non-profit arts organizations across Montreal and Vancouver, producing exhibitions, working with artists and performing archival work.