About Alexa
Alexa Avilés has lived in Sunset Park for nearly two decades. As a proud Boricua, education organizer, mother, and democratic socialist, she is driven by service — to her community, to her family, and to New York City.
Since joining the New York City Council in 2022, Alexa has stood strong for the communities of South Brooklyn fighting for housing for all, fully funded public schools, and a people-centered budget at City Hall. She’s sponsored dozens of bills that deliver for District 38 residents, and fights for a city government that works for the working class.
A product of East New York, Brooklyn, Alexa is fueled by her family’s struggles, resilience, and deep commitment to service. As a child, Alexa watched her mother help young people rebuild their lives after experiencing poverty, incarceration, and substance-abuse disorders. Her mother’s strength laid a solid foundation of love and hope for Alexa’s family and for her relationship with her community. It also inspired her vision for a better Brooklyn and a better New York City. Building and using the collective power of her communities is at the core of this vision.
The first in her family to attend college, Alexa graduated from Columbia University, then from Baruch College’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.
Alexa has dedicated her career to community philanthropy, working to keep young people and adults out of our country’s criminal injustice system. She is also an organizer and activist who has continually supported the revitalization of native cultures and languages. Before joining the Council, she most recently served as the Program Director for the Scherman Foundation, funding local and national organizations working on human rights, the arts, and NYC community issues.
Alexa has been proud to serve her community on a local level. Alexa served as the PS 172 PTA president for a decade, partnering with other parents to build programs, address families’ needs, and support neighborhood children. She was also a member of her local Community Board 7, served as a Parent Representative of the M.S. 88 School Leadership Team, and chaired the New York City Youth Board. She is also a member of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America, and volunteered both as the Chair of the Personnel and Internal Budget Committee and as Vice-Chair of the Youth and Education Committee on Brooklyn Community Board 7.
As a Latina, a mom, and your neighbor, Alexa is sensible and pragmatic. Alexa’s husband Frankie is a TWU Local 101 Member and lifelong resident of Red Hook and Sunset Park, and her intensely political daughters fuel her drive to build a better world. Inspired by her family and neighbors, Alexa is fighting for a society where every person can live with dignity in a healthy and safe community.
