Prior to covering Washington, Billups covered Albany politics for NY1 News, keeping tabs on the ups and downs of the Paterson administration and the transition to the Cuomo administration. Her stint in Albany coincided with the historic passage of the controversial same-sex marriage bill.

Before working for NY1, Billups was the political reporter for Time Warner Cable's upstate newschannels and its political show, Capital Tonight.

On her first day on the job reporting for Capital Tonight, Billups hit the ground running after news broke of the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal. Later she covered the ins and outs of state government, from the budget process, to the 2009 Senate coup, to events on the campaign trail.

Billups began her career with Time Warner Cable as YNN Albany's morning reporter. Prior to that she was a general assignment reporter in Elmira-Corning at the ABC affiliate WENY-TV, where she covered stories ranging from major flooding in the Southern Tier to the shootings of New York State troopers Andrew Sperr and Sean Brown. She also worked for ABC affiliate WTEN News 10 in the Capital Region.

Billups' broadcasting career began with an internship at YNN's Albany station. Her interest in politics grew from an internship with the New York Network, where she covered numerous state government stories in the capital.

Originally from Hollis, Queens, Billups moved to Albany to attend the State University at Albany where she received her Bachelor of Arts.