Professor Fields has a Master’s in English and a second Master’s in Sociology, and a PhD in Sociology, all from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She joined San Francisco State University in 2001 and was tenured in 2007. Her research focuses on sexuality education. She has received several grants for her research including a Ford Foundation major grant, and two Social Science and Humanities Research major grants. Her past administrative experience at San Francisco State University includes Graduate Studies Director of Sexuality Studies, Interim Director of the Public Research Institute, and Acting Director of the Center for Research on Gender and Sexuality. While at San Francisco State, Professor Fields was an advisor to Project Rebound, which provides academic and social supports to formerly incarcerated students integrating into a university setting.

Through the National Institute of Mental Health-funded Career Opportunities in Research Program, she also trained and mentored undergraduate students of colour preparing for doctoral programs. She joined U of T Scarborough in July 2019 as the inaugural Director for the Interdisciplinary Centre for Health & Society and since then has seen it through governance approval as the newly created Department of Health & Society.