I attended William & Mary College in Virginia (Norfolk Division) with a major in Psychology. In my senior year, the Norfolk Division became Old Dominion University. I then attended graduate school at the University of California San Diego for 2 years.

I graduated from Thomas Jefferson School of Law and began practicing law in 1977 primarily in North San Diego County. In 1980, the law firm of GALYEAN, TALLEY & WOOD was formed. I became a Certified Family Law Specialist in 1997. My practice consists of Family Law (divorce, custody, support, property division, mediation, special master) and Estate Planning (Trusts, Wills, Health Directives, Powers of Attorney). In 2016, I received the Family Law Attorney of the Year award from the North County Family Law Specialists. I have a Martindale-Hubble rating of AV Preeminent and have been named in “Top Attorneys in San Diego” in both the New York Times and the Los Angeles Magazine as well as the San Diego Magazine. I have been named in the San Diego Super Lawyer magazine for multiple years.