Renee is from Omaha, Nebraska and graduated Valedictorian of Ft. Calhoun High School. She then attended Truman State University (formerly Northeast Missouri State University) in Kirksville, Missouri, where she received her B.A. in English (summa cum laude) in 1998. She also received the honor of being voted Outstanding Graduate in English by her professors.

Following her undergraduate studies, Renee managed a family-owned jewelry store in Columbia, Missouri. While there, Renee studied geology by correspondence at the Geological Institute of America in California.

She returned to Nebraska in 2002 to attend the University of Nebraska College of Law on a full scholarship, the Dean H. Foster Memorial Scholarship. While in law school she was a member of the Nebraska Moot Court.

Renee received her J.D., with distinction, from the University of Nebraska in May of 2005.