Having grown up in South Carolina, Alabama, and Missouri, Alison moved to Utah in 2015. Her own experience in a wilderness therapy program as a teen inspired her thirst for adventure and appreciation for the outdoors. She spent a semester backpacking, sailing, and sea-kayaking in Mexico with NOLS, and worked in Wisconsin as a wilderness trip leader for a summer camp, and Malaysia as an assistant sea-kayaking instructor. She was a field instructor for a wilderness therapy program for nearly three years before making the transition indoors to work at The Arise Society. She was particularly drawn to Arise by the emphasis on the practical application of students’ therapeutic work.