Bio

Alexa helps mission-driven organizations become their best selves! She has over 18 years of experience developing organizational strategy with executive teams, co-designing impact frameworks together with communities and organizations, and leading interdisciplinary teams to design and innovate new programs at scale. She has worked extensively across South Asia, East and West Africa, Eastern Europe, and the U.S., applying the mindsets and skillsets of human-centered design, systems thinking, and data analytics to create positive change. Since founding Frontier Design, a design and impact advisory firm, Alexa has been privileged to work with senior leaders across a wide variety of domains including the U.S. Government, global non-profits and venture philanthropies, academia, Fortune 500 companies, and grassroots community foundations to drive change, sharpen impact, and support sustainable practices.

Prior to founding Frontier, Alexa held senior positions in the private and public sectors focused on international development and violence prevention, first with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and then with multiple private firms partnered with USAID and communities seeking stability and economic growth. Alexa led the design, co-creation, and implementation of field research networks in Syria for international donors that allowed Syrians to guide assistance toward life-saving needs in near real-time. She helped pioneer the design and implementation of USAID’s evaluation systems in Afghanistan to determine the impact of donor programs on community stability. Alexa has been honored by Devex and Chevron Corporation as a Washington, D.C. 40 Under 40 award recipient for her leadership in international development and received an innovation award from USAID for creative approaches to countering violent extremism.

Alexa holds a BA in Sociology & International Studies from Yale University and an MSc from the University of London’s School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS) in the Political Economy of Violence, Conflict & Development. She was a Fulbright Scholar, Aspen Ideas Scholar, and Council on Foreign Relations Term Member.