Alain became interested in social justice through the encouragement and modeling of her parents and teachers. She taught social science and literature for over fifteen years at schools in the United States and abroad. Alain’s formal leadership roles have included department chair at the American Overseas School of Rome and the International School of Amsterdam, Director of Multiculturalism and Inclusion at Chadwick School in Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA and Assistant Head of School for Academics at Hawaiʻi Preparatory Academy in Kamuela, Hawaiʻi. She has been published on the topics of Multiracial identity, Philosophy for Children programs, and Muslim Minority Schools in Greece.

Alain holds B.A. degrees in English and History from Amherst College, an Ed.M. focused on Risk and Prevention from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington with a focus on Curriculum and Instruction and Multicultural Education.