Alissa is a recent graduate of Wheaton College in Massachusetts, where she received her BA in psychology and English.

While at Wheaton, Alissa worked as a research assistant in the Law and Psychology Lab for 3 years, conducting quantitative research regarding juvenile adjudication, and completed a research internship at Rhode Island Hospital. She also spent two summers at the Yale University Substance Abuse Center working on qualitative research projects relevant to adolescent and adult smoking behaviors.