Voorhees, a native of Philadelphia, received her BA in English from West Chester University, her MA in English from Villanova University, and her Ph.D in English from Temple University. She has taught at WJU since January of 1990.  Her areas of specialization are American Literature, Modernism, Fiction, and Women in Literature with a focus on women poets.

She is an active contributor and editorial member of the Mezzo Cammin Women Poets Timeline Project (www.mezzocammin.com/timeline), and she is a recipient of the Outstanding Teaching Award conferred by Wheeling Jesuit University. She lives in a century old Victorian farm house with her husband (and colleague) John Whitehead and their cat, Mooch, and she enjoys traveling, gardening, clothing and jewelry design, and, of course, reading.