Patricia Hines earned her B.A. in English from the University of South Carolina and M.A. in English from the University of Virginia. She also attended Converse College. The awards she has received include First Honors English Graduate (University of South Carolina) and South Carolina Volunteer of the Year, as well as recognition from the South Carolina Autistic Society, and Outstanding Young Women of America.

She has served as Executive Director of the National Council on Education Research, Special Assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary of Education, Chief of Staff to the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy. She was Deputy Director of the Office of Policy Development at The White House, Assistant Secretary in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) of the U.S. Department of Education, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Training and Education, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Manpower and Reserve Affairs.