Long before the meetings, community events and the shifting demands of city leadership begin, Mayor Alyia Gaskins (HPM ‘11) starts her day with the same awareness that has guided her since childhood: health shapes every moment. For Gaskins, now the first Black woman to serve as mayor of Alexandria, Va., health has never been confined to the doctor’s office. It is rooted in the places we live, the food we eat, the stress we carry and the systems that shape our daily lives.
That understanding was forged early. Raised in Pittsburgh by a mother juggling multiple jobs and chronic health issues, she spent her childhood shuttling to UPMC Shadyside hospital 10 to 12 times each year. “I realized that my mom didn’t need a better doctor,” she says. “She needed better living conditions. If you are constantly stressed or exposed to toxic mold or pollution, it will affect your health.”
In her youth, Gaskins volunteered at her church and later worked with food banks and holiday toy programs. These experiences sharpened her understanding of inequality and nurtured a belief that communities deserve systems designed to support them, not make life harder.
Gaskins’ educational journey has reinforced her belief that health is shaped by policy and place. She studied economics and policy at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., where she first began connecting the dots between environment, stress and health. She went on to earn an MPH in health policy and management from Pitt Public Health and later a master’s in urban and regional planning from Georgetown University.
At Pitt Public Health, a practicum with the Pennsylvania Department of Health took her across the state, from large cities to rural stretches, revealing disparities in public health infrastructure.
“I was interviewing nurses in places where one nurse covered huge territories,” she recalls. “Then I’d be in major cities with entire health departments. It showed me just how differently communities experience public health and how essential that infrastructure is.”
Those lessons followed her to Washington, D.C., where she worked on food access policy, and eventually to Alexandria, where she built roots, started a family and stepped into public office.
Gaskins took office as mayor on January 2, 2025, at a moment when cities across the country were grappling with shifting federal policy, rising housing costs and mounting pressure on public health infrastructures. She approaches these challenges with an insistence on understanding which populations are most affected.
“You can’t just say, ‘Let’s serve as many people as possible.’ You have to ask who is impacted, what they specifically need and where support will prevent the greatest harm later,” she explains.
This lens guides her in everything—from emergency management planning to grant allocation. It’s not unusual for Gaskins to weigh the health implications of flooding on the Potomac or to consider how a federal government shutdown reverberates into food insecurity across the city’s 13,000 federal workers. She views housing quality and issues with mold, rodents and water issues with the personal understanding of someone who grew up navigating those same hazards.
“If housing makes people sick, we’ve failed,” she says.
Recently, she worked closely with the Alexandria Health Department to reshape the City’s Community Health Improvement Plan by taking planning sessions out of conference rooms and into laundromats, parking lots and grocery stores. “Ordinary people know what keeps them healthy and happy,” she explains. “Small ideas can add up to something transformative.”
Gaskins also runs a consulting practice at the intersection of public health and urban planning, a way to both support her family and learn from cities across the country. She has worked all over Tennessee, from small towns to big cities like Memphis, helping communities build coalitions and advocate for health-focused policy.
“Nothing happens without health,” she says. “And every single thing in a community shapes it.”
Today, she’s a mom of two and navigates the same balancing act she sees her constituents facing. “I don’t do it all,” she stresses. “I do what I want, and that means learning to say no. I can’t be the leader or mother I want to be if I don’t take care of myself.”
Her mother, whose health struggles shaped Gaskins’ early life, now lives in a skilled nursing facility close enough for regular visits. Her husband, a former Pitt football player, coaches at a local high school.
When she finds a rare moment to unwind, you’ll probably find her rewatching Abbott Elementary (“every episode, seven times”) or listening to the Slay Girl Slay podcast for a dose of inspiration. Her holiday playlist, of course, features Mariah Carey on repeat.
Through every chapter of her life—childhood caregiver, public health student, policy advocate, mother and mayor— Gaskins’ belief in the necessity of health has stayed constant, guiding the message she shares with students today. “There’s a lot happening right now and a lot of pressure on public health,” she says. “But you’re still in the right profession. Everything you’re learning is needed more than ever.”
- Amber Curtaccio