After earning a B.A. in art history and studio art at Bates College in 1989, Gerstl-Pepin received a Ph.D. in educational organizations and policy studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her training focused on qualitative methodology, with a minor in the anthropology of education. She was named a Fulbright Scholar in 2011 for study at Beijing Normal University. Gerstl-Pepin is internationally recognized as a leading academic authority on educational politics and ethical leadership. Poverty, with its connection to inequitable educational outcomes, has been a compelling theme in her work.