Alexandra holds an M.S. in Agriculture, Food and Environment from Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and a BS in Nutritional Sciences from Cornell University. She is a researcher, cook, nutritionist and writer. She has previously written and researched on issues related to food security, sustainable agriculture and social and environmental justice for NGOs and think tanks such as the Worldwatch Institute and the Small Planet Institute, where she is currently a Fellow at Large. In 2010, as one of the authors of a publication for Slow Food International, she was invited to Turin, Italy, where she was able to taste and learn about specialty foods produced in various regions of Italy. Her understanding of the food culture and immigrant community of New York comes from her grandparents, who came to New York 50 years ago and were very active in the Chinatown community and restaurant business. Alexandra currently lives in Manhattan.