Originally from Oregon, Alyson Paris has spent the last decade making New Orleans, Louisiana home. As an undergraduate at Tulane University, she studied public health. Following graduation, she served two terms with AmeriCorps at the Center for Ethical Living and Social Justice Renewal where she first awakened to a passion for community organizing. She has spent the last six years in Haiti, Ghana, Guatemala, and the Gulf South exploring the complexities of community development, indigenous knowledge, and holistic approaches to healthcare, with a particular interest in the roles that faith and oppression have on forming thriving communities. She has served with various non-profits, studied resiliency in post-disaster contexts, and completed her graduate practicums with the nationally recognized workforce development program Café Reconcile.