Ali McKersie serves as Lead Education Specialist for Democracy in Dialogue Virtual Exchange at the Smithsonian Institution. With a distinguished 26-year career, she taught at Bank Street School for Children, where she also held leadership roles including Upper School Dean of Student Life. Ali is a National Fellow with Educating for American Democracy (EAD) and iCivics-EAD. She co-founded and co-facilitated Building Bridges, an innovative civic engagement project connecting middle school students nationwide. Her experience includes leading teacher training internationally and presenting at numerous progressive education conferences. She is a Board of Trustees member for High Meadow School, and serves on the editorial board of Bank Street Occasional Papers, a scholarly journal focused on democracy in education. She holds degrees from Cornell University and Bank Street College of Education.