Root started her higher education at the University of Illinois, but later transferred to Northwestern University, to major in political science. She graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with degrees in fine arts and architecture. She then took a Master's Degree in City Planning and a Master's of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley.
In 1980, she opened her own planning firm, Planning Analysis and Development, in San Francisco. She headed the firm until 1998, when she relocated to New York. While in New York, Root headed the strategic planning services division of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. She returned to San Francisco in 2002 to a job as a project manager for Auberge Resorts. She later took a senior position with RBF Consulting.
From 1990 to 1998, Root was a board member of San Francisco Urban Planning + Research Association, a public-policy think-tank promoting good government and sustainable urban planning.
In 1970 she was arrested in Greece, convicted of smuggling 38 pounds (17 Kilos) of hashish across the border from Turkey, and received a prison sentence of 10 months. She was married to Richard Dodson in 1984; they were divorced at the time of her death.
