Alixandra Yanus was born and raised in the pretzel capital of the world, southeastern Pennsylvania. She earned a B.A. in political science from American University in Washington, D.C. and completed her M.A. and Ph.D. in political science at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She previously worked as a full-time intern for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and as a staff member at American University’s Women & Politics Institute.

Her research and teaching interests lie in American government, particularly gender and politics. She has published a number of articles and book chapters in journals such as Politics & Gender; Politics, Groups, and Identities; and Women, Politics and Public Policy.