Ali W. Rothrock is an author, speaker, and educator who has spent two decades turning personal survival into public impact. After joining her small-town fire department at sixteen, she discovered both the beauty of service and the deep cost of silence. She has since delivered over 500 presentations nationwide, giving voice to resilience after trauma and fighting for the mental health of those who run toward emergencies.

As the Founder & CEO of On the Job and Off, Ali leads a movement to build more resilient first responders. She draws not only on her professional training but also on the lived experience of being a firefighter and EMT who endured, survived, and chose to speak.

Ali is a Certified Crisis Counselor through the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, a Certified Trauma Responder with the Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists, and a Behavioral Health Specialist with the Medical Reserve Corps. She has also served as a sexual assault and domestic violence counselor, work rooted in her belief that no one should have to carry their pain alone.

Her first book, Where Hope Lives, tells the story of her early years in the fire service. Her second, After Trauma: Lessons on Overcoming from a First Responder Turned Crisis Counselor (Broadleaf Books, 2022), weaves her personal journey with the tools she’s carried into her work with others: honesty, grit, and the belief that healing is possible.

Ali holds an Associate’s Degree in Fire Science, a Bachelor’s in Psychology: Crisis Counseling, a Master’s in Human Services: Trauma, Resilience, and Self-Care Strategies, and is currently earning her advanced graduate certificate in Trauma & Disaster Mental Health.

She moves often with her husband Forrest who serves in the Air Force.