Alyson Neel

Alyson Neel is a native Louisianan and professional feminist. After graduating from LSU, she moved to Istanbul, Turkey, where she worked for two and a half years as a journalist. Neel traveled around the country and into Iraq to cover human rights issues, in particular gender-based discrimination and violence, for the Washington Post, CNN Turk, and the largest English-language daily in Turkey. Inspired to play a more direct role in change, she decided to break into a new field—gender justice advocacy—and returned Stateside to enter policy school at Princeton University. While in school, she has worked for UN Women on the improvement in the status of female employees in the UN, for the World Bank on gender-based violence in fragile states, and with the Louisiana State Legislature on campus sexual assault.

Ten Things I Can’t Do Without

1. My mom and two sisters, my rocks
2. Human touch
3. Coffee (fresh, strong, and in large quantities)
4. NPR
5. Good wine (best accompanied with dark chocolate, dancing, and/or good company on a front porch)
6. Journal + pen
7. Peanut butter (the crunchier the better)
8. A challenge (i.e., an institution to fight—mostly kidding)
9. Work I believe in and can devote my all to
10. Getting lost in a different country or a good book