Coleman is a professional journalist, having launched her career with Knight-Ridder as a News Reporter for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper in Georgia. She worked in Southern Atlanta for seven years as the Regional Communication Director and the Deputy Regional Forester for the Pacific Southwest Region with the US Forest Service. Before her current role as Associate Chief, Coleman served as Deputy Chief of Business Operations, Associate Deputy Chief of Research and Development, and Chief of Staff in the US Forest Service Washington Office. She oversaw daily operations and the Office of Communication and Legislative Affairs programs as Chief of Staff. Additionally, she helped advance the USFS mission by providing senior-level support to the Chief and Executive Leadership Team. Coleman is a member of the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Sigma Delta Chi Society of Professional Journalists, and the World Forestry Congress. In 2010, she was selected as a Senior Executive Fellow for Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.