Alderson grew up in Jackson, Tennessee, and is a graduate of the University School of Jackson. She graduated cum laude with a degree in business administration from Rhodes College in 1999, where she served as president of the Chi Omega sorority.
She won the Wall Street Journal Award for Excellence in Finance because she was the top finance student in her graduating class. As part of the Bryce Harlow Institute of Business and Government Affairs, she also studied at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.