Dr. Maxwell has been certified as an Applied Animal Behaviorist since 2002. Over the years, she has worked with hundreds of families whose cats, dogs, or birds exhibit serious, often dangerous, behavior problems. She has conducted research in the field of canine learning, examining the effects of delayed reinforcement, conditioned reinforcement, and various response reduction techniques on dogs’ responding. Dr. Maxwell currently serves as a member of the Board of Professional Certification for the Animal Behavior Society's Applied Animal Behavior program. She has held multiple leadership positions for the Association for Behavior Analysis International's Applied Animal Behavior Special Interest Group and currently serves as this organization's Applied Animal Behavior Research Area Coordinator. Dr. Maxwell also is the blog writer for the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior.

In addition to her teaching as a Visiting Professor and Adjunct Lecturer in university settings, Dr. Maxwell has provided educational seminars to various pet professionals, including dog trainers, veterinarians, shelter staff, and kennel clubs. From 2008-2010, she wrote a pet behavior advice column for the Centre Daily Times and she currently writes The Teacher’s Pets column for The Roanoke Times. She has been featured in West Virginia's Daily Athenaeum, the Dominion Post, and the Charleston Daily Mail; central Pennsylvania's State College and PAWSitively Pets magazines; and Dog Fancy and Cat Fancy magazines as well as the Popular Puppies magazine series.

She currently lives in Blacksburg, VA, and operates  Pet Behavior Change, LLC through which she and her pet behavior consultants provide behavioral services to families in southwest Virginia, northern and southern West Virginia, central Pennsylvania, and the Orlando, FL metropolitan area.