Packnett is the daughter of educators and currently serves as executive director for Teach For America in St. Louis. She first joined Teach For America as a 2007 corps member in Washington, D.C., where she taught third grade at King Elementary in Southeast Washington. From there, she served as legislative assistant for her hometown Congressman, U.S. Representative Wm. Lacy Clay of Missouri, advising on education, family policy, and oversight and government reform committee matters. Following her time on the Hill, Packnett served as a director on Teach For America’s Government Affairs team, and volunteered as the executive director of Dream Girls DMV, A Mentoring Program for Girls, and as founding co-chair of The Collective-DC, an organization for Teach For America alumni of color in the region. She is graduate of the John B. Ervin Scholars program at Washington University in St. Louis and American University in Washington.