Alison Fromme
Whether she's slogging through remote New Zealand lakes in the name of science, collecting oceanographic data on a tall ship off the coast of Honduras, racing sailboats in the San Francisco Bay, or backcountry skiing in Oregon, Alison Fromme is most at home outdoors. As a kid, she got lost on her first hike into the woods behind her neighborhood and hasn't stopped exploring since. Over the past decade, she's trekked around Australia, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico, various Caribbean Islands, and several European countries, but some of her favorite adventures are still simple hikes near home.
Her desire to explore has also led her indoors-- Alison is a perpetual student, both formally (with ecology and evolutionary biology B.S. and M.S. degrees from Cornell University and Washington State University) and informally (as an avid reader, museum-goer, and endless observer). She also loves to share what she's learned with others. In a previous life, Alison taught high school biology in Massachusetts, where she developed district science curricula, took part in a National Science Foundation study on technology and education, and advised the school newspaper.
When one of her high school students asked her what an acorn was, Alison was shocked. "I had no idea that some of these kids had missed out on the most basic science education." She knew science literacy was her calling. "Some people act like science is only for brainiacs, but really it's just all about curiosity and observation."
When she's not leading tours with Blue Jungle Tours, Alison is a freelance science writer, exploring topics ranging from edible insects to fruit fly genetics for magazines, websites, and textbooks.