Dr. Brewer is a Professor of Nursing at the School of Nursing University at Buffalo. In addition to being awarded the Distinguished Nurse Researcher award from NYSNA she was awarded the University at Buffalo Research Award from the UB School of Nursing as well as the UB Exceptional Scholar Sustained Achievement Award. She earned her Ph.D. in Nursing Systems and a Master's degree in Applied Economics from the University of Michigan, as well as a Master's in Nursing Administration from the University of Tennessee. She has practiced clinically in Nigeria and rural Tennessee as well as Michigan.

She is also the Director of Nursing for the New York State Area Health Education System Statewide Office, developing NYS AHEC System nursing policy, nursing and health care workforce development programs.

Dr. Brewer conducts research that examines RN workforce decisions, which is key to developing effective policy. She has been funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to examine workforce behavior of RNs in Metropolitan Statistical Areas and by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study newly licensed RNs.  She served on AHRQ's Health Systems Research Study Section, and was a founding member of the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Nursing Issues interest group of AcademyHealth.

Since 1994 she has taught a variety of courses including Nursing Financial Management and Leadership, Grant Writing, Quantitative Research Methods and Health Care Policy, Systems and Ethics to UB graduate and undergraduate students.