Townley was born in Minneapolis in 1965.[1] She was part of the United States national rowing team from 1985 to 1992.[1] She won two silver medals at the 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow,[1][4] and went on to repeat the feat at the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle.[1] Townley also took part in five editions of the World Rowing Championships from 1985 to 1991,[1] winning a bronze medal at the 1990 edition.[1][5] She also rowed for Harvard University,[6] and after graduation in 1987 she won the Alumnae Association Award from Radcliffe College.[7]
Townley competed in women's eight event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, where the US team finished in sixth place.[8] Four years later, at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Townley was part of the US women's quadruple sculls team that finished in fifth place.[9]
After her rowing career, Townley went to work for L'Oréal in New York,[1][10] before moving to the West Coast to work in marketing for Chevron.[1] After working for Chevron for some years, she quit her job to become a dressage trainer in California.[1][11] In January 2022, she was appointed as one of the six new board members of the National Rowing Foundation.[12]
