Joan Alexander is President and CEO of The Stanford and Joan Alexander Foundation. Together with her late husband, Stanford, Joan has been a leader and supporter of the Jewish community, social services across all communities, medical research and health care, education and scholarships, and the fine arts for over sixty years in Houston and beyond. Joan brings a courageous and compassionate voice to the causes she loves. Using her influence as a philanthropist, writer, and community activist, Joan has impacted many cultural, political, spiritual, humanitarian and women’s initiatives in the community. She is a passionate advocate for mental health issues and received Mental Health America’s Ima Hogg Award with her beloved Stanford for their advocacy and efforts to secure insurance parity and The Spirit of Hope Award for initiating its “Stamp Out Stigma” campaign against mental illness. Joan served on numerous boards and committees including The Menninger Clinic, the University of Texas Medical School at Houston’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Mental Health America, Crisis Intervention, Interfaith Ministries, Jewish Federation, Houston Food Bank, and S.E.A.R.C.H. She was founder of the Photography Department at the MFAH and still serves on the Photography Committee today. She and Stanford played a major role in the founding of the Alexander South Texas Jewish Archive at Rice University, creating the Alexander Geriatric and Palliative Medicine Division at UT Health, and they established the Alexander Celebration Company and the Alexander Institute for Inclusion at Jewish Family Service to create an oasis of care, purpose, belonging, and work for people living with disabilities and mental health issues.
