As a child, Alexis pored over books about ancient Egypt and Greece, and spent untold hours in museums exploring golden treasures. Her first job in high school was labeling artifacts in an archaeology lab, and she went on to earn her undergraduate degree in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology from Bryn Mawr College.

Throughout a career in international education, Alexis lived and worked in Russia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Asia. She lived in Tajikistan for several years before returning to New York and joining the staff at the Asia Society, where she most recently served as the Managing Director of Education.

As she traveled all over the world, Alexis sought out and studied historical and handcrafted jewelry – from the galleries of the Athens Archaeological Museum, to the antique shops of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, to the workshops of jewelers and stone dealers in Jaipur, India.

Alexis apprenticed and now teaches at the Jewelry Arts Institute (JAI) in New York City. Founded in 1974, JAI is renowned for rediscovering and reviving ancient jewelry techniques, such as granulation, which were once considered lost to history.