As part of our ongoing efforts to support the emotional and social well-being of our students, MITCS is excited to offer small group and schoolwide support services through our partnership with Dr. Amy Alexander, an experienced teacher, guidance counselor, and consultant. The goal of our collaboration with Dr. Alexander is to provide students with additional resources and strategies to navigate challenges they may be facing, and to help foster positive emotional growth.
About Dr. Alexander
Born in Pittsburgh, PA, Dr. Alexander earned her B.S. in Education along with a 7-12 social science certification from Cal U of PA. (now Penn West). She earned her MS. Ed. & K-12 school counseling certification, and her PhD in Counseling and Supervision from Duquesne University.
Dr. Alexander’s research interests focus on counseling diverse populations, varying forms of collective trauma, including Generational, Historical, and Cultural Trauma, body image & self-esteem, Black feminism, therapy within communities of color, how trauma affects education, school violence, and trauma-engaged pedagogy.
Dr. Alexander has presented at national and International conferences such as The Association for the Study of African American Life and History and The International Conference on Urban Education, as well as state and community organizations including the Pennsylvania Counseling Association, Allegheny County School Counselor’s Association, The Pennsylvania Department of Health and Human Services, several nonprofit organizations and local universities, on various topics including diversity, transferred trauma, and the importance of mental health treatment in minority communities. She served as president of her local NAACP and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. She is also a contributing author of the books Counseling Ethics: Philosophical and Professional Foundations and Trauma Counseling: Theories and Interventions 2nd edition.
Dr. Alexander has been awarded Who’s Who Among American Teachers (2000 and 2002), and National Honor Roll’s Outstanding American Teachers (2005-2006). She is also a recipient of the 2021 The State of Black Learning, Black Excellence in Education Award and the 2021 New Pittsburgh Courier’s Women of Excellence Award.
In addition to her career as a classroom teacher and school counselor, Dr. Alexander established her consulting firm LegAAcy, Culturally Aware Advising and Consulting, to help educate and engage people, organizations, and communities of color around mental health, trauma, and equity. She earned her Sports Counseling Certification and completed writing her chapter on trauma and school violence in 2021.
Dr. Alexander’s career spans the fields of mental health and education, as those worlds often over-lap, affecting our personal and work lives & our ability to function in wholeness and wellness.
Dr. Alexander’s dissertation, Examining the Legacy of Transgenerational Trauma and its Effects on Contemporary African American Adults in Parenting and Caregiver Roles to African American Adolescents, has been viewed, downloaded, and referenced thousands of times, including in South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, Tanzania, Australia, Czech Republic, Germany, Croatia, Israel, and several other countries.
Dr. Alexander continues her work in the community through serving on several local boards, providing trainings and workshops nationally through LegAAcy, her consulting company, and volunteering at organizations that serve historically underrepresented communities.
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