Directly before her master's degree at Northern Arizona University, Dr. Schaefer worked for the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office as an Anthropologist, where she conducted ethnographic interviews, facilitated focus groups, and coordinated visits of Hopi Elders and Park Service employees to help aid the permitting process for traditional plant harvests at National Monuments in the Flagstaff, Arizona area (2008). While studying at NAU, she worked as an Anthropologist (2009) and part-time faculty member in the Anthropology Department (2010). As an Anthropologist, Dr. Schaefer conducted a needs and asset assessment with Hopi women to learn why gaps in Indigenous knowledge transfer between generations. Her work culminated in a report to the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office to preserve cultural knowledge. In her latter work as a part-time faculty member, Dr. Schaefer taught Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, an undergraduate course. Dr. Schaefer joined Eastern Michigan University as an adjunct faculty member in 2011, teaching Introduction to Cultural Anthropology.

Dr. Schaefer then relocated to Michigan to work as a Graduate Facilitator, International Graduate Teaching Assistant, and leader in the Undergraduate Buddy Program (2013). In the role, she facilitated discussions between international teaching assistants and American undergraduate students to help teaching assistants better support their American students. Dr. Schaefer also worked as a Graduate Research Assistant at the Native American Institute (2013-2014) and the American Indian Studies Program (2012-2014). Additionally, Dr. Schaefer worked as a Research Assistant for the College of Menominee Nation, Sustainable Development Institute (2014-2016) and Graduate Research Assistant at Michigan State University's Department of Community Sustainability (2016-2018). During this time, she was also selected as a Graduate Fellow at the Northeast Climate Science Center (2014-2017) and, Environmental Fellow through the Environmental Fellows Program at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, where she was placed at the Wege Foundation and the Grand Rapids Parks & Recreation Department (2017), and Environment Program Fellow at The Kresge Foundation (2018). During graduate school, Dr. Shaefer participated in the Interdisciplinary Inquiry Teaching Fellowship Program as a Graduate Assistant (2018-2020) and Graduate Fellow (2019-2020). During this time, she also served as a Member of the Commission on Sustainable Development Education Caucus (2012-2020). After graduating in 2020 with her PhD, she worked on the Michigan Community and Anishinaabe Renewable Energy Sovereignty (MiCARES) Project as a Research Associate through Michigan State University (2020-2021). During her time with the project, she worked to dismantle barriers and identify opportunities for eight communities in Michigan, including two Tribal Nations.

Dr. Schaefer joined the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center in 2021 as a Tribal Climate Strategies Research Scholar (2021-2023). Afterward, she joined the Center for Cooperative Ecological Resilience as an Adjunct Assistant Research Faculty and the US Environmental Protection Agency as a Social Scientist in the Integrated Climate Sciences Division. She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Michigan State University. Her research analyzes collaborations between Indigenous and scientific knowledge and how they can work together to create more sustainable futures. In addition, Dr. Schaefer is a founding member and Advisory Council member of the Northeast Indigenous Climate Resilience Network. This organization convenes Indigenous nations and partners on climate adaptation and action.