Alex Helberg was trained as a high school English teacher in Wisconsin, graduating shortly after collective-bargaining rights were stripped from the state’s public employees. This unfortunate turn in the state’s labor politics led him to pursue graduate education at Carnegie Mellon University, where he earned his Master’s and Doctoral degrees studying the rhetoric of public engagement in activist and advocacy contexts. During his time at Carnegie Mellon, Helberg actively researched and participated in local food justice movements, ranging from hunger charities to radical food distribution collectives. In 2018, he and fellow graduate students spearheaded in a university-wide advocacy effort to fund and open a food pantry for food-insecure Carnegie Mellon students and staff. He was also deeply engaged in the English Department’s writing program administration, serving as Assistant Director of Undergraduate Professional and Technical Writing, as well as the department’s Technology-Enhanced Learning Coordinator. He is currently the co-Executive Producer of the public scholarship project and podcast re:verb.