Charlotte A. Gurley received her Bachelor of Science Degree in 1979 and after graduation began working in public accounting and tax services. She received her CPA certificate from the state of Oklahoma while working for John M. Carr CPA. Since 1987, she has managed a CPA office in Idabel, Oklahoma as well as doing all the tax returns for the office. In June 2001, she was appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma as a trustee for the McCurtain County Higher Education Program.