A Hampton native, Willie graduated summa cum laude from Hampton University, where she also became a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. After teaching high school in the suburbs of New Orleans, she attended William & Mary Law School and became the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Women and the Law and President of the Black Law Students’ Association. Willie went on to clerk in the Fairfax County Circuit Court and subsequently became a prosecutor who advocated for children and family members that were victims of crime. She served as a prosecutor in Fairfax and Arlington County before moving back home to Hampton Roads and continuing that work in the Newport News Commonwealth Attorney’s Office.