What’s Your Why with Alex Aide, Director of Programs + Impact, Born This Way Foundation
Kindness can change the world. Learn how Born This Way Foundation’s Director of Programs + Impact remains hopeful in the fight to build a kinder, braver future with and for youth worldwide.
How do you build a better future? By nurturing the next generation that’ll inherit the earth. One community program at a time, the advocacy organization Born This Way Foundation provides youth with the resources they need to mold a safer world for all.
Their work starts with listening with empathy, but it doesn’t end there. Beyond giving youth a safe space to share their challenges and amplifying their experiences, Born This Way Foundation builds frameworks for the solutions young people themselves envision.
From providing free, digital mental health resources to a youth-led grantmaking initiative, their team wields empathy and action to construct better protections for youth worldwide. We spoke with Alex Aide, their Director of Programs + Impact to get a peek into the force driving their advocacy.
Discover the elements that propel their work—curiosity, enthusiasm and a hunger to make the world a better place.
Staying curious helps me better understand the nuances of how people are approaching mental healthcare around the world, in their own communities, and in their own households.
Can you tell us a bit about the work you do? How long have you been working in social impact?
I’m the Director of Programs + Impact at Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation. I have the honor of overseeing our groundbreaking programs such as our mental health peer support course the Be There Certificate, the storytelling platform Channel Kindness, the youth-led grantmaking program Kindness in Community Fund supporting organizations around the world, and our Youth Advisory Board made up of youth leaders on every populated continent.
I’ve worked in social impact my entire professional life. I’m a licensed attorney, but I chose a nontraditional path post law school that focused my talent for community organizing and passion for making the world a better place into a career.
Why were you drawn to this cause or social issue? Do you have a memory or moment that sparked your interest?
I was drawn to supporting Born This Way Foundation’s mission to build a kinder, braver world and support the mental health of young people because I was that young person who struggled with their mental health. Growing up, I desperately hoped for a kinder world when I was faced with bullies and didn’t know where to turn to in my own school for help and support.
Cut to 2012, and I am in my last year of law school watching Lady Gaga launch Born This Way Foundation at Harvard live on YouTube. She spoke about the need to build a world that is safe for every young person, provides young people the skills to support themselves, and opens up opportunities for young people to become leaders in their communities to build that kinder, braver world. At the time, I didn’t know what I was going to do post law school exactly, but I dreamed I could be part of the team one day. It seemed like such a long shot at the time. But, somehow the stars aligned when I moved to Los Angeles a year later and got my first job at the WME Foundation, which happened to represent Lady Gaga. I started working alongside her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, co-founder and president of the Foundation, to continue to shape the organization’s work and focus, and eventually I was asked to join the team full-time in 2017.
Alex Aide and Born This Way Foundation colleague Shadille Estepan at NYC Pride
What background or lens do you bring to this space? How do they shape the way you tackle projects or initiatives?
I think most of all I bring empathy, experience, learning, and action. When working in social impact, empathy is critical. You have to be able to not just see someone else’s point of view, but also be able to feel what they’re feeling. To understand where someone’s hope or frustration is coming from, and to be able to connect the dots from problem to solution.
I bring experience to the table innately as a trained lawyer, a community organizer, a writer and storyteller, an advocate, and someone who has lived experience with mental health challenges.
No matter how much experience I bring, though, I always bring an enthusiasm to learn to every meeting or any new challenge. Staying curious helps me better understand the nuances of how people are approaching mental healthcare around the world, in their own communities, and in their own households.
Finally, I create action. I don’t just listen to the issues young people are facing, I take action with my team to help address them.
Who do you do this work for? Which communities are you interested in uplifting through your projects and why?
I do this work because 1) I love it, 2) I see problems in this world when it comes to young people and a lack of mental health tools and resources, and 3) I believe I can help address those problems.
I’m interested in uplifting not just these challenges for young people, but also the solutions young people envision and are proven to work. When we’re adults, we often speak for young people what we think would be best for them without asking them first. But every generation of young people experiences their own unique world. What was helpful for me growing up in the early 2000s probably isn’t as relevant to a young person in today’s world. So everything I do to support young people is informed by them and every step of my work is done alongside them so that we never lose sight of what is actually helpful for them.
In social impact, the work is long and the road isn’t easy. What is your North Star, principle or philosophy that keeps you going? What keeps you rooted?
“Leave the world a better place than you found it.” At the end of my life, I don’t need my name on a plaque anywhere, I don’t need a library or museum wing named after me, and I don’t need anyone to remember my name. I just need to be able to answer the question “did I leave the world a better place than I found it?” with a resounding yes.
Alex Aide on stage with Lady Gaga, Co-founder of Born This Way Foundation
Did you ever want to give up? How did you overcome that?
I have dealt with depression and anxiety since I was in my teens, so while my spirit never wants to give up, sometimes my brain does. I can lose confidence in myself, and I can succumb to feeling overwhelmed and sad about the world sometimes.
I overcome these feelings by reminding myself of the importance of kindness to myself and others. It’s OK that I feel down sometimes, and I know it’s just temporary. And if I see the world as unkind, it’s important for me to do my part and add kindness to the world. Plus, performing acts of kindness has proven positive impacts to our mental health!
Can you share three bodies of work (books, essays, projects, music, etc) that inspire your own?
- Lady Gaga’s album Born This Way is of course one of the most formative pieces of art in my life. I heard this album at a time when I felt like I didn’t belong in this world, and through this album, Lady Gaga created a world where people like me not just belong, but are celebrated.
- While it’s not a body of work, necessarily, my English professor in college, Jo Ann Dadisman changed my life. Before I took her course, I was afraid to write and felt like I wasn’t good at it. She entirely demystified the process of writing for me, and I learned to love it. It’s now my superpower, and that is truly thanks to her.
- Again, while not a body of work, my advisor in law school, Jennifer Powell, gave me the chance to lead our schools LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, OUTlaw. In doing so, she presented me with an opportunity to use talents I didn’t know I had – storytelling, advocacy, and community organizing. This set the wheels in motion for my entire career, and I every success I’ve had since to her believing in me.
September 13 is Your Last Chance to Enter the 4th Annual Anthem Awards!
It’s been a remarkable year of seeing the industry’s best impactful and purpose-centric work. We’re blown away by the level of talent and grit, and cannot wait to champion the winners of the 4th Annual Anthem Awards.
Our Extended Deadline is your last chance to honor your work alongside inspiring advocates, movement leaders, and impact-driven companies in this year’s competition. Enter by Friday, September 13th!
