We’re excited to welcome a talented new Healthy Lifestyles Program Manager to Partners Aligned Toward Health! She’s a great addition to the PATH team and has already hit the ground running as our spring and summer programming ramp up. We’ll let her introduce herself in her own words:
Alessandra Akers, MPH, MSW
Healthy Lifestyles Program Manager
Born and raised in Saluda, North Carolina, Alessandra is excited to join Partners Aligned Toward Health (PATH) as the Healthy Lifestyles Program Manager. Alessandra has been an active member of the WNC community her whole life and brings 7+ years of experience working to improve the health and well-being of children, families, and community members. After completing her undergraduate degree at UNC Chapel Hill, Alessandra worked at the University of North Carolina at Asheville as the ¡Vamos! Program Coordinator, a college access program for Latino/a high school students. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she served as a medical interpreter at Blue Ridge Community Health Services (BRCHS), working to ensure that Spanish-speaking patients had access to high-quality care, before deciding to return to school to pursue additional education. Alessandra completed her Masters of Public Health and Masters of Social Work from the University of Michigan in 2024 and is passionate about creating community-health programs and initiatives that center community needs and empower children and families to live healthy lives. In her free time, she likes to run, hike, drink tea, and pet the friendly cats in her neighborhood.
We also wanted to thank and bid a fond farewell to our former Healthy Lifestyles Program manager, Hannah Robinson-Michael! She started as an intern with PATH and worked her way up to her role as the Healthy Lifestyles Program Manager, becoming an important part of the leadership team. She’s enriched the team and supported a variety of initiatives from Summer Food and CARE Team to the recent Community Listening Sessions and Community Health Assessments. Thankfully she’ll still be a close community partner in her new role at NC Child and is entering a new stage of life as she and her husband welcome their first child in April.
