Decky Alexander
Host of "Washtenaw United"Jessica ‘Decky’ Alexander is a professor of drama/theatre education at Eastern Michigan University and Director of Engage@EMU, an office whose mission is to cultivate community and university collaboration. Both as a performer and as a faculty member, Decky has used the mediums of theatre and performance to foster voice with underserved and underheard individuals and communities.
Alexander’s current creative and scholarly endeavors include the use of theatre for faculty development; community performance, and community-based learning. Through Engage@EMU, the Family Empowerment Program, a supportive services program in affordable housing, and the Prevention Theatre Collective, a high school theatre program, which creates theatre to assist in the prevention of substance abuse and use.
In 2018, Alexander launched Limelight, a theatre company dedicated to addressing social/cultural problems, through theatre inspired solutions. Recent projects include: Solo Acts: A Theatrical Compilation on Solo Aging; Homebound, a podcast on intergenerational dialogue between seniors and young people during COVID 19; ReGen An Intergenerational Storytelling Experience in partnership with Generations United and Vital: A Fugue on Aging, An Ethnographic Performance on vulnerable seniors and caregivers commissioned by the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. All projects are situated in and with Limelight, Alexander's theatre consulting company and collaborative.
Recent publications include: A Tale of Telling Some Truths to Power in Applied Theatre with Youth (Routledge 2021); Disrupting a Disruption or Live Everything, in Community Engagement 2.0? Dialogues on the Future of the Civic in the Disrupted University, and Addressing the Student Debt Crisis: Steps Universities Can Take for Academic Leaders (2019) and the forthcoming Applied Theatre & Youth compendium published by Routledge.
When David Fair retired as WEMU news director and local host of "Morning Edition," he named Decky the new host of the weekly news segment, "Washtenaw United."
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When we think about a just society, we often think about laws, courts, and consequences. But what if we look at it through a humanist lens? True justice isn't about punishment. It's about recognizing the inherent dignity and infinite potential of every single human being. And nowhere is that test more critical than in how we treat our youth. Under the leadership of its Executive Director, Jason Smith, the Michigan Center for Youth Justice has championed tectonic shifts that are reshaping youth justice to build a stronger and more compassionate future for generations to come. Smith talked about the center's continuing mission of developing a truly fair justice system with Decky Alexander. -
Military veterans and their families can face many difficulties after serving our country. Anything from housing to proper physical and mental health care can sometimes be out of reach. Fisher House Michigan in Ann Arbor is a resource for these veterans. Decky Alexander talked about Fisher House's work with its executive director, Kate Melcher. -
Inspired by her own experience as a caregiver for a loved one living with a serious mental health condition, Judy Gardner is a passionate advocate for mental health awareness, inclusion, and access to care. She has continued that passion as Executive Director of the Washtenaw County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Gardner talked about the organization's work in promoting men's mental health with Decky Alexander. -
What does it take to heal a community impacted by gun violence? For some local advocates, it starts with an industrial chop saw in a church parking lot, turning dismantled firearms into pieces of art. For others, it's launching a lock-it-up campaign with community centers or pediatric offices that give away free lockboxes to anyone. These grassroots efforts are just part of the story for Physicians for the Prevention of Gun Violence (PPGV), founded by local doctors who have witnessed the physical and psychological toll of firearm trauma firsthand. Washtenaw United's new host, Decky Alexander, talked all about PPGV's ongoing work with the organization's president, Dr. Mike Otto.
