Born and raised in California’s Central Coast, Alissa spent her childhood on the beaches of Montaña de Oro, Cayucos, and Morro Bay, and summers camping in Kings Canyon. Such experiences fostered her love of and appreciation for the natural world, and the calm and wonder found therein. She attended UC Santa Barbara, where she studied History, with a focus on Environmental History. After graduating, Alissa stayed in Santa Barbara, working in retail management and customer service, and found that interacting with the public, exchanging ideas, and recognizing shared experiences brought her joy and satisfaction. After living briefly in Australia, she moved to the Presidio in San Francisco for a position at the Bay Area Discovery Museum, and began her non-profit museum and association career trajectory. Alissa honed her informal early childhood education skillset in varying roles at the Bay Area Discovery Museum, where she always attempted to infuse nature and art into her programming. She landed next at the USS Hornet Sea, Air, & Space Museum in Alameda, supporting the public programming, events, and community outreach on board and off-site of the retired aircraft carrier. Alissa then shifted fully to the events world, working at a small association that supported scientific conferences, and then a medical devices company, supporting sales reps and national events with back-end logistics. She thrives in working with the public, committees, and volunteers, and loves to see the collaboration, problem-solving, and unique approaches that ultimately build successful programming and events. Alissa believes in lifelong learning, a global community, and the teaching power of the natural world. She loves visiting the cows, and watching Hidden Villa transform with each new season and her favorite mission-aligned book is Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney.