Apryl A. Alexander

Dr. Apryl A. Alexander is an American clinical and forensic psychologist who is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Alexander directed students at the Denver Forensic Institute for Research, Service and Training (Denver FIRST) under the University of Denver and engages in clinical psychology practice. She is co-founder of the University of Denver's Prison Arts Initiative where incarcerated individuals engage in a therapeutic, educational arts curricula. In 2005, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and became the first woman in her family to pursue a postsecondary education. During her undergraduate education, Dr. Alexander volunteered with sexual assault and domestic violence survivors.

Dr. Alexander earned a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology at Radford University. She worked in the Office of Substance Abuse and Sexual Assault Education and conducted exit interviews for the Radford Aware Program for students that violated alcohol policies. During her graduate studies, Dr. Alexander worked as a counsellor at the Women's Resource Center in the New River Valley in Radford, Virginia. and is the Metrolina Medical Foundation Distinguished Scholar. Additionally, she serves as the director of the Violence Prevention Center.

Research Early in her career Dr. Alexander got involved in the treatment program offered in collaboration between Auburn and the Department of Youth Services to provide education and normative experiences to adolescents who had sexually offended. Polyvictimization accounted for most of the variability in psychological distress among college females and accounted for significantly more variability than any individual category of victimization on psychological stress. She found that true rates of PTSD might be underrepresented due to the primary concern being severe mental illness in individuals where trauma might have been the precursor to the mental illness. Unfortunately, the label of sex offender remains permanent in the lives of these children as they move into adulthood, even though less than 4% of these individuals never go on to commit another offence. Dr. Alexander was featured on Denver ABC News to discuss her ideas about shifting the language of the COVID-19 pandemic from "social distancing" to "physical distancing" as a means to reduce isolation and improve mental health. She emphasized maintaining physical distance but staying socially connected in as many ways as possible. She has been particularly concerned with how institutional marginalization has led to exacerbated marginalization during COVID, especially with the homeless, low wage, and racial/ethnic minority populations. 2023 Evelyn Hooker Award for Distinguished Contribution by an Ally Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (APA Division 44) 2022 Social Justice in Psychology Award Rocky Mountain Humanistic Counseling and Psychological Association 2021 Marion Langer Award Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice 2021 The Lorraine Williams Greene Award for Social Justice American Psychological Association (APA Division 18: Psychologists for Public Service) 2020 Emerging Scholar Diverse: Issues in Higher Education 2017 Karen Saywitz Early Career Award for Outstanding Contributions to Research American Psychological Association (APA) Division 37 Section on Child Maltreatment 2017 APA Early Career Achievement Award American Psychological Association (APA) Committee on Early Career Psychologists 2016 Outstanding Recent Alumna Virginia Tech Influential Black Alumni Awards, Virginia Tech Alumni Association 2011 Elizabeth B. Wolf Outstanding Clinical Student Award Florida Institute of Technology, Clinical Psychology