McLean received a BFA from Middle Tennessee State University and MFA from California State University Long Beach. Her work has been exhibited and screened in galleries, museums, and alternative spaces across the United States and Internationally in Ireland, Canada, Belgium, Germany and Japan. She has received an ARC Grant from the Durfee Foundation, two Hoff Foundation Grants, and was awarded a Professional Artist Fellowship from the Arts Council for Long Beach in 2009. Her work will be included in an upcoming DVD compilation of short videos by the LA Film Forum. She was a finalist for a 2012 Vimeo Video Award. McLean lives and works in Long Beach, CA.