Senior Program Officer, Melville Charitable Trust
Alyia Gaskins is a Senior Program Officer at the Melville Charitable Trust. Ms. Gaskins’ work focuses on addressing housing affordability and housing stability as key components of preventing and ending homelessness for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). A public health strategist and urban planner, Ms. Gaskins’ has over 10 years of experience developing and executing large-scale initiatives and partnerships. Previously, she served as Assistant Director for Networks and Programs – Health at the Center for Community Investment (CCI). In that role she led Accelerating Investments for Healthy Communities, which helps hospitals and health systems invest in affordable housing.
Prior to CCI, Ms. Gaskins was a Senior Associate at the National League of Cities where she helped hundreds of municipalities pass over 3,000 policies to promote health equity through First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Cities, Towns, and Counties initiative. As a Policy and Program Associate at D.C. Hunger Solutions, an initiative of the Food Research and Action Center, she partnered with municipal leaders to implement the D.C. Healthy Schools Act and the D.C. Healthy Tots Act – comprehensive legislation to improve the health and wellness of children. She also founded CitiesRX, a consulting firm focused on advancing innovative models of cross-sector partnerships.
Ms. Gaskins also has a proven track record of service in Alexandria and Virginia, serving on the Virginia Fair Housing Board, Agenda Alexandria Board, the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce Government Relations Committee, Hunger Free Alexandria Steering Committee, her local church, and more.