Dr. Hala is originally from Omdurman, Northern Sudan. She is proud to be the great granddaughter of late Sheikh Babiker Badri, who is the pioneer of women education in Sudan. In 1907 he started the first school for girls in his own house in Rufaa, Sudan. This first girl's school later progressed until it became one of the biggest and best Universities for Women in the Sudan situated in Omdurman, known as Ahfad University for Women (Ahfad means grandchildren). Her first degree is in Management from Ahfad University for Women, Sudan. She holds a PhD degree in Accounting and a Master's degree in Financial Managerial Controls, from University of Southampton, UK. She is also a Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional (CNAP). She has taught at Ahfad University for Women, Sudan, for over 10 years after which she decided to move on to the practical side of her field and in nonprofit organizations. She worked as an Accounting Manager and a Project Manager in the Delegation of the European Commission to the Sudan. In 2005 she moved to the USA and this was when she started to work in the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) as an adjunct Associate Professor in Accounting. She also worked as the Accounting Manager in the International Rescue Committee, Maryland, USA. She enjoys traveling and has visited some countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. She also like reading self-help books.

Her research interest is in the area of grounded theory and management accounting as well as e-learning.