Career
She trained with swimming coach George Haines, who was noted for training future Olympic medalists during the 1960s and 1970s. Her brother, Ted Stickles, was also a competition swimmer, set world records in the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley events. Stickles was married to Olympic long-distance runner Álvaro Mejía.
They met in Cali, Colombia, where she was a Peace Corps volunteer.
Stickles brought Mejía to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1969. They subsequently divorced.
She is now retired and living in Calaveras County, California. She is a fused glass artist.