Her core interest lies in the use of metaphor and symbolism in visual art, as a tool to represent complex ideas and visualize the invisible realms of mind, thought, and emotion. Since writing her honors thesis on visual metaphor at Stanford University in 2004, she has explored this interest through multiple roles and media: as art director, curator, and designer of metaphoric imagery for newspapers, books and exhibitions. 

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From 2010-17 she was an art director for the New York Times’ Opinion section, commissioning original illustration for articles, curating art-driven features, and designing for both print and digital. She has collaborated with a roster of over 1000 artists worldwide and art directed over 4000 editorial illustrations. She is known for greatly expanding the range of visual contributors to the Times, drawing equally from the worlds of contemporary illustration, fine art, animation, and comics. From 2021-24 she was Senior Art Director at The New Yorker. She currently commissions art for Hammer&Hope magazine, and teaches in the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay program at SVA in New York.  

She is a frequent public speaker and has given talks at universities, conferences, and museums throughout Europe, South America, Canada and the United States. Originally from San Francisco, Alexandra has a background in classical and modern dance, and has worked for a variety of notable art organizations, including Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Cabinet Magazine, Jazz at Lincoln Center and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is open to new collaborations and opportunities, so please get in touch!