Mayalisa graduated from the University of Idaho in 2002 with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance, studying under Sandy Mauchley. She has been organist and pianist for Moscow First United Methodist Church off and on since 1999, and has been an active member of the church handbell choir for several years. For the past thirteen years, she has been a stay-at-home mom of two. Initiated into Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity in 1999, Mayalisa has maintained involvement in music and the fraternity, holding offices in the Sigma Zeta chapter at the University of Idaho and the Moscow-Pullman Alumnae Chapter in Moscow, and performing and accompanying for chapter recitals and musicales. More recently she has served as Province Officer, overseeing chapters in Washington and Idaho, as well as serving as a resource for fraternity members living in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, as well as Western Montana and Wyoming.  Her love for accompanying and collaborative work prompted her to return to the University of Idaho in order to pursue a Master of Music in Collaborative Piano.