Prior to her current role at D'Youville University, Garrison served as provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, interim president, and vice president of academic affairs at Methodist College, a private health professions college in Peoria, Illinois. In those roles, Garrison worked with a robust shared governance system to support the curriculum design of new programs, provided leadership for effective in-person, blended and online learning opportunities, developed strong interprofessional partnerships across the college and higher education communities, and guided the college through a leadership transition.

IU Fort Wayne is a regional education center under the administration of IU Indianapolis, hosting six academic schools, including the Schools of Dentistry, Nursing, Social Work, Health and Human Sciences, Medicine and the Richard M Fairbanks School of Public Health. Garrison reports to the IU Indianapolis chancellor.

Garrison has a bachelor's degree and master's degree in nursing and a Ph.D. in health studies from Texas Woman's University. She is licensed to practice as a registered nurse in Illinois and New York.