After graduating from UCLA, she furthered her education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The University of North Carolina is considered to have one of the best Orthodontic programs in the world.
Dr. McCarthy is currently a member of the American Dental Association, the California Dental Association, the American Association of Orthodontists, and the Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists. In 2003, she became the first female President of the Northern California Dental Society.