Alicia Assad, MAPP is a writer exploring motherhood, faith, and Mary Magdalene. She is the co-founder of La Suvera Press, the co-author of Fishing on the Right Side of the Boat: Stories, Symbols & the History of Mary Magdalene, and the editor of A Book of Love: 101 Messages from God. She writes personal essays @TheArtistryofFaith and co-creates @TheMagdaleneThread, where history, symbol, and pilgrimage illuminate Mary and the sacred feminine.

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Drawing on lived experience, careful research, and formal study, Alicia's work is rooted in motherhood and shaped by a devoted spiritual practice, her years as a professional dancer, and graduate studies in wellbeing at the University of Pennsylvania, where she was among the first 100 students to earn a Master of Applied Positive Psychology. 

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As Miss New Jersey, Alicia was the youngest contestant in the Miss America 2002 Pageant and recipient of the Overall Elegance & Lifestyle award. A former Radio City Rockette & Wilhelmina Fitness Model, she earned a BS in Arts Administration and Dance Minor at Wagner College. She is certified in Pilates, Health Coaching, Colour Therapy, and trained as a Reiki Master in the Usui System. A two-time runner of the NYC Marathon, she is a practitioner of yoga, meditation, and various energy healing traditions.

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After moving from New York City to Long Island, then across the world to Hong Kong and back again - to Jackson Hole, Wyoming - Alicia now lives in Bedford, New York, with her husband, five children, and their rescue animals.