Alison Mariella Désir is the author of the best-selling book, Running While Black, and the tv host and producer of the award winning show, Out & Back w/ Alison Mariella Désir on PBS. Alison is known as a thought leader, a community builder, and a culture shifter and has been named one of the most influential African Americans, aged 25 to 45, by The Root 100. Over the past decade, Alison has founded several organizations at the intersection of movement, mental health and racial justice. Alison holds her BA in History, MA in Latin American and Caribbean Regional Studies, and EdM in Counseling Psychology, all from Columbia University.