Professor Sherwin was born in Lubbock, Texas, and grew up in Ruidoso, New Mexico. She graduated from the University of New Mexico with a B.S. in Biology. She was one of the first law students at Texas Tech to graduate with a J.D./M.S. in Environmental Toxicology. After graduating, she moved to Dallas to practice environmental law and toxic tort litigation. She is admitted to practice in Texas and before the Supreme Court of the United States. 

In 2008, Dr. Sherwin moved back to Lubbock to teach at the law school and complete her Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology. She has been published in the top environmental law journals in the country, including the Stanford Environmental Law Journal, the Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum, and the N.Y.U. Environmental Law Journal. In 2019, in recognition of her research and scholarship, Dr. Sherwin was selected for the prestigious President's Excellence in Research Professorship. 

More than anything, Dr. Sherwin loves working with students. Her excellence in teaching has been recognized campus-wide with a number of awards. In 2019, she received the Chancellor's Council Distinguished Teaching Award – the highest teaching honor awarded within the Texas Tech University System. She has also received the Texas Tech New Faculty Award and was voted the Outstanding Teacher of the Year in Public Health in 2014 and again in 2019. She enjoys serving as a faculty advisor to numerous student organizations, coaching moot court and arbitration as part of Texas Tech's #1 ABA-Ranked Advocacy Program, and spending time with her husband (also a law professor and director of the advocacy program) and their shelties, Glinda, Elphaba, and Nessarose.