Director of Programs and Impact, Born This Way Foundation
Photo by Anna Sobol.
By Kristen Uppercue
Alex Aide, director of programs and impact at Born This Way Foundation (BTWF), grew up in Ronceverte, WV. His grandfather founded the department store Aide’s Discount Stores, which expanded from West Virginia into other states—something Aide also envisioned himself doing.
“I grew up ‘managing’ the toy department at the store near our house in Lewisburg. That entailed some pretty hefty job requirements like playing with all the toys on the shelves,” Aide says. “Joking aside, I did see myself one day running my own stores, especially when my family decided to shut down the business in the mid-‘90s. While life has taken my family and me off the path of running retail stores, I do believe I have my grandfather’s entrepreneurial spirit in everything I do.”
Aide attended West Virginia University (WVU), where he received his bachelor’s degree in accounting after trying two other majors first, pre-pharmacy and political science. He graduated Summa Cum Laude then attended WVU College of Law, where he graduated in 2013.
Aide says law school was tough, so much so that he considered dropping out right up until his name was called at commencement.
“I was not the greatest law student by any objective measure, but I didn’t give up. I stayed. I completed my assignments. I studied. I somehow passed my exams each semester, despite telling myself over and over again I was surely going to fail,” he says.
Aide says his mentor, Jennifer Powell, current assistant dean for student services and engagement at WVU College of Law, encouraged him to keep going.
“She saw something special in me, and that made all the difference during and after law school,” he says.
Aide’s cousins, Drew Pendleton and Townley Hamilton, also encouraged him.
“All of my family was so supportive of me no matter what, but my cousins Drew and Townley really went out of their way to check in on me, listen to me and encourage me that I could do anything in the world if I stayed in school,” he says.
During school, Aide received the Exemplary Student Organization of the Year Award while he was president of OUTlaw, WVU College of Law’s LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, and the Individual Presenter Award for Best Public Speaking Presentation on Entrepreneurial Client Issues. Aide was also a finalist for the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association’s Student Leadership Award and a nominee for the Legacy Award for greatest impact on the law school.
“All three years brought new challenges and new successes, and I showed up at graduation like it was the finish line to a marathon,” Aide says.
While still in law school, Aide’s first job was a summer internship at Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest legal organization in the U.S. dedicated to the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people. Here, Aide had the opportunity to support his employers working on litigation and advocacy efforts for securing and protecting equality under the law, including housing, immigration, employment, health care and school.
“There were wins in and outside of my job during this time, and I’ve learned since this job how fragile those rights are. So much has been achieved in the LGBTQ+ rights movement over the past decade, but now this community is under exponentially increasing attack by the day,” Aide says.
Following law school, Aide chose an unconventional career path, focusing on philanthropy and advocacy. He served as a fellow at Propper Daley in Los Angeles, where he supported clients such as Disney and Viacom and assisted in developing effective charitable and social impact strategies.
Aide then moved on to the WME Agency, where he worked on a team that led the company’s global corporate social responsibility efforts and provided philanthropic consulting to clients, including Charlize Theron, Matt Damon and Lady Gaga—which is how Aide first met the BTWF team.
“I remember watching the launch of Born This Way Foundation live online in 2011 in my apartment in Morgantown when I was in the middle of law school. If you asked me then if I thought I’d end up actually working for Lady Gaga, I would have told you to stop being ridiculous,” Aide says.
In his role today, Aide leads the strategic planning, development, launch, operations and scale of research-driven, multiplatform global programs at the forefront of mental health awareness and advocacy.
“My favorite thing about this position is working with my team and getting to make a positive change together. Our programs give young people a platform to share their stories and inspire others, they educate and equip young people with the tools they need to better support their friends and themselves when it comes to their mental health, and they help cultivate and create kindness in schools, workplaces and communities everywhere,” Aide says. “The world can be a tough and scary place, so the challenge is never losing hope. There is so much good in the world, too, and we can’t ever lose sight of that or give up on it.”
Through Aide’s previous positions, he learned the importance of cultivating supportive, equitable and kind work environments, saying, “If you can help someone, help them.”
“I know how lifesaving kindness can be when it’s included in the mix of mental health care,” Aide says. “I’m someone who has openly struggled with depression and anxiety, and it’s the kindness of people—their support, their simple words, their love and their friendship—that have kept me afloat.”
Aide takes that passion for spreading kindness into the world through mentoring his team, members of the foundation’s global Youth Advisory Board and all of the young people who are part of the programs, story and ongoing impact. He is a member of the Mental Health Storytelling Initiative, a coalition of more than 60 entertainment industry partners and mental health expert organizations designed to revolutionize the narrative on mental health and extend its programming and research on mental health media representation. He is also a member of the Mental Health Youth Action Forum and participated in the first-ever forum at the White House alongside MTV, the Biden-Harris administration and 18 leading mental health nonprofits to drive culture from awareness to action on mental health storytelling and media.
“Diversity and inclusion are not just buzzwords for me; they are principles that shape my worldview. I firmly believe that a diverse and inclusive society fosters innovation, empathy and understanding,” Aide says.
Aide and his team at BTWF have been recognized with the Social Impact Summit Innovator of the Year award and Webby honors and received a Shorty Award.
“I have lived dreams of mine, and I have lived through nightmares I didn’t see coming. What I’ve learned is, no matter what, life is full of highs and lows. When you’re in the low, know it’s not forever. And when you’re in the high, enjoy it because it’s not going to last forever, either,” Aide says. “That’s what makes life interesting and exciting and, at the end of the day, a much better story.”
