Alicia Zapata received her Master's Degree in Art Theory, Criticism and History and Certificate of Museum Studies from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. During that time she completed internships with Brooklyn Museum and International Center of Photography. She taught middle school and high school darkroom photography at Marwen Art Center in Chicago for years before receiving her teaching licensure from North Park University in 2015. She has taught art in New Orleans, Lousiana for the past 3 years. During this time, she created and built two art programs in the International Baccalaureate framework.