Education

PhD – University of Illinois at Chicago, In Progress
Urban Planning and Policy, Economic Development concentration

MUPP – University of Illinois at Chicago, 2010
Urban Planning and Policy, Economic Development concentration

B.A. – The George Washington University, 2002
International Affairs; International Economic Development Studies concentration

Research Interests

Alison’s research centers on the modern-day degradation of job quality, especially the impacts of precarious working conditions and variable and unpredictable work schedules on worker health, well-being, families and communities. She is the author of a number of research reports and policy briefs related to issues facing Illinois workers and has provided expert testimony to the Chicago City Council, Illinois Legislative Assembly, and the International Labour Organization.

Courses

Alison directs and teaches for the Worker Rights Project, a LEP initiative that provides bilingual (Spanish-English) workers’ rights training for non-union workers. In collaboration with the Chicago Jobs Council (CJC), Alison also teaches train-the-trainer courses for frontline providers of workforce development programs in the Chicagoland area.

In 2015, Alison joined with staff from the Illinois Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety Education and Research Center of the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago to develop the Workers’ Rights for Workforce Development curriculum. This work serves as the first curriculum ever developed in the U.S. that is entirely focused on connecting workers’ rights education to workforce development programming. A fourth edition of the curriculum is planned for release in September 2024. Request a free copy of the curriculum here:  https://lep.illinois.edu/workers-rights-for-all/