Independent (Alex Sheehan)

Spanning a career over a decade operating at the intersection of corrections and reentry, mental health, and lived experience, Alex is currently a Behavioral Health Program and Project Administrator with the Washington State Health Care Authority, developing, implementing, and supervising programs that increase equitable access to mental and behavioral health care for chronically homeless and justice-impacted individuals. Alex is also Co-Founder and Principal Consultant of Aplex Group, LLC, a consultancy assisting justice-impacted individuals meet their unique career, leadership, and academic goals. Currently, Alex is a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) Candidate at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and a Fellow with the Health Policy Research Scholars program at Johns Hopkins University researching how lived experience with substance use disorder and mental illness can be utilized and maximized to inform federal mental and behavioral healthcare policy to eliminate disparities and produce better outcomes for those seeking services. Alex believes that policy is the lever for change, and it is most successful when it is routed in equity, dignity, and informed and led by individuals with lived or living experience.