As Director of Education at Queens County Farm Museum, Ali manages and develops programming about sustainable farming and history serving thousands of children, families and adults in the New York City region. Ali’s professional career began in early childhood education, as a preschool teacher in a low-income community in Washington, DC. Following this, she pursued a Master's degree in social work at Columbia University, specializing in program development and mental health services. During graduate studies and as a social worker she has partnered with adolescents, adults, school communities, and corporate settings striving to empower change at micro and macro levels. A personal curiosity for sustainability and agriculture led her to seek opportunities blending these interests with social service work, bringing her to Queens Farm in July 2013. Ali currently resides in Brooklyn and when she’s not at the farm enjoys doing yoga, harvesting wild plants, fermenting & preserving foods, and exploring weird corners of the city.
She also loves:
• solution-focused interventions
• systems theory
• permaculture
• healing arts
• DIY projects (rehabbing furniture and home-making cosmetics)
• re-use of spaces, places and things (happily collecting hand-me-downs from friends, Dumpters, and sidewalks)
• swimming in the ocean and walking through the forest