Alex Frisina

Alex Frisina is a longtime peer advocate and systems leader focused on community connection and inclusive program design. As Senior Director of Empowerment Services at HALI, Alex oversees all outreach programs including INSET, Mobile Shower Units, and collaborative partnerships with community crisis services, including a collaboration with Stony Brook Hospital having Peer Specialists embedded in the psychiatric emergency and inpatient departments.

Alex was a key force in rebuilding HALI’s services in the wake of executive leadership change and the COVID-19 pandemic. His leadership is rooted in a commitment to authentic peer support, voluntary service models, and mission-aligned systems advocacy. He chairs the Suffolk County Transportation Workgroup and is known for bridging community-based needs with public systems, particularly for those at risk of coercive care.

Alex first entered the field as the Long Island Regional Youth Peer Advocate with YOUTH POWER!, where he led statewide trainings on youth voice, peer support, and self-advocacy. He created original curricula rooted in his own experience and traveled nationally to promote youth-led change in behavioral health services. His work continues to center lived experience and equity, with an unwavering belief in the power of community.

Alex enjoys making music, watching football, and spending time with family. A former hip hop artist who toured the U.S. and Canada, Alex brings the same energy and storytelling to his leadership in the peer movement, infusing his work with creativity, passion, and authenticity.