Ali Brooks comes to CDAE with a background in Food Systems, place-based education, and social justice. She studied Environmental Studies and African Studies as an undergraduate before starting her teaching career through work with several experiential and wilderness-based schools in the American West and southern Africa. Ali earned her master's degree in Food Systems from the University of Vermont and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Policy. Her work centers on the intersection of critical pedagogy, food systems, and social transformation.