Alison Cross is a passionate, solutions-oriented entrepreneur who uses design to address social issues. A history of working at companies such as TBWA\Chiat Day, The San Francisco Foundation, UC Berkeley, and Feldman Architecture eventually led to turning her focus to the issue of food.

She co-founded The Boxcar Grocer as a way to increase food access in neighborhoods typically regarded as food deserts. Her vision for a scalable urban corner store launched in downtown Atlanta during November 2011. The Boxcar Grocer worked to bridge the divide between local farmers and consumers who desire healthy food. Since closing the store in 2015, Alison has focused on a variety of issues involving urban development to help build a more sustainable Atlanta.

Alison holds an architecture degree from Barnard College and has been featured in Grist, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and Good Magazine. She recently transitioned off the Georgia Advisory Board for The Trust for Public Land but continues to advocate for TPL. She lives in the City of Atlanta where you can find her zipping through town on her e-bike, savoring samosa chaat at Colony Square, or watching squirrels and hawks in her Midtown Atlanta backyard.