“I’ll be here definitely to see that through and to make sure that the resources that we generate are going where they need to go,” he says.ĭirector of Policy and Campaigns, Human Services Council Alexander hopes to continue building an equitable marijuana sector in New York for the next decade or so. His role spearheading the Start SMART NY campaign and drafting the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act led him to his current role as head of the new commercial marijuana agency. He led proposals on a number of reforms including the repeal of 50-a, a law that previously allowed law enforcement agencies to shield records of police misconduct from the public. Alexander also served as a congressional staffer and as policy coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance.īy the time protests broke out over George Floyd’s murder, Alexander was counsel to the newly Democrat-controlled state Senate. His career in politics began as a field organizer under the New York State Democratic Committee.
“Witnessing and experiencing the way that law enforcement was able to, essentially, operate with impunity and really minimize the humanity of others in those interactions, really frustrated the hell out of me,” he says.
But the true catalyst behind Alexander’s policy work today was his experience with stop and frisks by police as a young Black kid. Profiles by Kay Dervishi, Natasha Ishak & Jasmine SheenaĮxecutive Director, State Office of Cannabis ManagementĪt 31, Christopher Alexander is at a remarkably young age to head a state agency.īorn and raised in Hollis, Queens, he says his Caribbean immigrant parents instilled a strong sense of community responsibility in him. City & State’s Albany 40 Under 40 recognizes the best and brightest of the bunch – all of them younger than 40 years old. Youthful experts, advocates and activists are a driving force in an array of important policy areas and professions in the state capital as well, from cannabis, casinos to construction and commerce to combating COVID-19 and implementing value-based care. And while big-name politicians headline press conferences and get their names in the news, they wouldn’t get anything done without their teams of smart, ambitious young staffers.
While the state Capitol has historically been the kind of the place that puts a premium on seniority and experience, it has in recent years seen the rise of a new generation of elected officials in their 20s and 30s who aren’t waiting decades before getting a seat at the table. It’s been said that youth is wasted on the young, but anyone paying attention to the inner workings of Albany knows that’s not the case.
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