Yolanda Flowers was born in 1961 in Birmingham, Alabama, and attended the Birmingham Public School System. She pursued higher education at Maryville College, though she left to marry Curtis Lynn Flowers, Sr. She later earned an Associate of Arts degree in Speech from Pellissippi State Technical Community College, followed by a Bachelor of Arts in Audiology and a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Flowers spent over two decades as a Reading Instructor for Blount County school system and worked as a Speech, Language, Pathologist Assistant for Blount County and Alcoa City school systems. She also served as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for the State of Tennessee and worked as a full-time Substitute Teacher in the Birmingham City School System from 2016 to 2019.

Yolanda Flowers positions herself as a champion of "Reconstructive Freedom," advocating for systemic changes across criminal justice, healthcare, and economic policies. Her approach is deeply rooted in addressing systemic inequities, particularly for marginalized communities. Flowers's strategy combines progressive economic policies, such as raising the minimum wage and expanding healthcare access, with a focus on criminal justice reform aimed at reducing incarceration rates. Her unique framing of these issues under the banner of "Reconstructive Freedom" suggests a nuanced and ideologically agile approach that seeks to balance progressive ideals with pragmatic outcomes.