Alicia grew up in Columbia, Maryland and completed her undergraduate degree at the College of William and Mary in International Relations. She worked for several years in international development, managing USAID and State Department funded programs in the Middle East, with a particular focus on mitigating impacts of violence on communities in Syria. Prior to starting her Masters she worked for a finTech startup in DC offering innovative financing models for energy efficient building practices. She is now in the process of completing a Masters in Urban Planning with a focus on Environmental Policy at MIT, and has been working as a research fellow for the MIT Energy Initiative, looking into sustainable business models to provide universal energy access.  Her interests include how to combine infrastructure design with net zero policy objectives, exploring cities on her Klein road bike, and teaching yoga.