She attended college in Portland, Oregon, taught English in Japan for two years, received an MA in East Asian Languages and Literature from the University of Colorado in 2006, and was a reporter for a weekly newspaper on the Rosebud Reservation and later for South Dakota Public Broadcasting, receiving a state Associated Press Best Feature in 2009 and a regional Edward R. Murrow Award in 2010. More recently Lindsay co-founded the annual Startup Weekend Black Hills event, an educational business pitch competition for blossoming entrepreneurs – now in its fourth year.