Alyson Baer
Although she tends to vote blue, Alyson Baer began her working career with Arizona’s late Sen. John McCain.
“His intentions were pure,” Alyson laughs. “But he was a bit of a hot head.”
Alyson grew up in Princeton, N.J., and Phoenix. Although she didn’t go on a date with him for a year, she met her husband, Jay, on the first day of college in a poly sci 101 honors class.
Following her work in campaign finance and constituent relations for McCain, Alyson worked for an Arizona governor and then became a paralegal at a large law firm.
A dozen years ago, however, her husband asked her how she felt about a big life change.
“Out of the blue one day, my husband told me that he wasn’t happy in Arizona,” Alyson said. “He was doing a lot of work for a company in Indianapolis, so we looked at Indy. But we wanted a college town, and everything was pointing to Bloomington.”
The Baers recently sold their business, Convince and Convert. Her husband does speaking engagements, and Alyson takes care of his office work. They have two children, Annika and Ethan.
Alyson’s former neighbor, Beth Theile, put her name up for membership in 2019. Alyson is glad she accepted the invitation.
“I love the sisterhood, meeting people you wouldn’t meet otherwise,” Alyson says. “I love our meetings, and I will admit it’s been nice to meet in person (after Covid-induced Zoom meetings). The energy in the room is amazing. It’s just so much more fun.”
Alyson also loves cheeseball-making day, mostly for the sisterhood.
“It’s a super fun day,” Alyson says. “I love the camaraderie.
“I like to get grouped with people I might not sit with at the meetings.”
All in all, Alyson feels Tri Kappa is about friendship.
“I love that age doesn’t matter,” Alyson says. “Everybody is a sister. You get to know people younger than you, people older than you. If we met organically, it might not be so easy to form friendships. That’s what I really like about our group.”
More About Alyson:
Is in DAR with Chelsea Jones, who helped her with her application and research
Her interest in genealogy has led her to create family trees for clients
Is a certified yoga instructor.
Was born in Bethlehem, Penn. — “Christmas Town USA”
Loves the “junky” TV series “90 Day Fiancé”