Darcy received a B.A. in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology from Wellesley College in 2007 and a M.A. in Egyptology from the American University in Cairo in 2014. Her Master's Thesis is entitled, “Amethyst, Apotropaia, and the Eye of Re”. She has worked as an illustrator, archaeologist, and surveyor in Egypt (the Red Monastery (Sohag), the Temple of Mut (Luxor), the Valley of the Kings, Abydos, Hierakonpolis, and Kharga Oasis); Sudan (Uronarti); and Greece (Lesvos Migration Survey).  She also excavates at Çadir Höyük in Turkey, where she is assistant director of prehistoric excavations. In the 2019 season, she conducted an intensive surface survey at Çadir, supported by an IBES Research, Travel, and Training Award.

Darcy’s research focuses on the archaeology of arid landscapes and human processes of place-making and adaptation in marginal environments. Her dissertation work approaches the Egyptian deserts as social landscapes, looking at evidence from the Predynastic period to the end of the New Kingdom. Her other interests include ancient production and technology, international trade in luxury goods, mining and mineral resources, and materials science.