She obtained her PhD in Horticulture from the University of Guelph in Canada and MSc. in Agronomy and BSc. Agriculture from the University of Nairobi. Her research and outreach work cover most areas of Horticulture and more so Floriculture, from policy to programming and the entire value chain of several commodities.

Some of these include: Development of tissue culture protocols for several economically important floriculture and fruit crops; optimizing the agronomic and pest control practices of fruits, vegetables and flower crops, reducing postharvest loses of horticultural crops (cut-flowers, fruits and vegetables); gender mainstreaming in policy and programming just to name a few. Prof. Hutchinson has published widely in refereed journal and conferences .