Prescribed Fire Practitioner Aliya Haas Blinman grew up in Sonoma, California, looking under rocks for bugs and climbing trees. After seeing fire in their own community, Aliya decided to take a special interest in fire ecology, learning how plants, animals, and people have adapted to and used fire for hundreds of millions of years. They studied conservation and resource studies at University of California, Berkeley, specializing in disturbance ecology, and minoring in forestry and English. After graduating from university in 2022, Aliya spent nearly four years with the U.S. Forest Service as a Wildland Firefighter on hand crews in both the Boise and Mendocino National Forests. During their time in the Forest Service, they gained more hands-on experience with prescribed burning and fire operations. They are excited to join the Fire Forward team and help good fire become more community based and actionable, taking a part in creating fire resilient communities.