Since 2010, Alix has committed herself to community and economic development, both in the US and abroad, working alongside and learning from communities in the southeastern US as well as South Africa, Thailand, and India. Her passion for tourism as a means for economic development stems from her experience living with an elephant-keeping community in northern Thailand, where she lived with a host family and saw firsthand how tourism could have a positive impact not only on a small, rural community but its surrounding environment and wildlife. That experience, and her subsequent experience with international volunteer tourism, inspired her to build on her commitments to public service and her previous education from Boston University, where she obtained a BA in history and political Science, by earning an MPA in economic development and policy analysis from Indiana University, where she focused much of her research on responsible tourism.

Alix is also a wilderness search and rescue volunteer, freelance writer, and hobby documentary and portrait photographer focused on telling unique, individual stories.