HPAE 5094 Recognizes Black History Month – Honoring Alexis Rean-Walker

Alexis Rean-Walker, former Local 5094 Co-President, is currently serving as the “state” federation HPAE’s Secretary-Treasurer. She is the first officer to come from a non-nursing bargaining unit (5094)!

Alexis worked for RBHS for over 29 years as a Senior Project Management Analyst and Treasury Analyst. She is currently a member of the State Executive Committee and serves on the AFT Women’s Rights Committee.

“The burdens we carry can make our path in life feel heavier and steeper, but they also strengthen our steps, sharpen our resilience, and teach us how to walk with purpose even when the road is uneven,

I remember a time when someone spoke words to me that stayed for years, Those words cut deeper than I thought possible – lingering, shaping, wounding. They felt stronger than death itself. Words matter. The way we treat one another matters.

As a leader – and as an African American leader – I choose to live life with intention. I choose to treat others with respect, with love, and with empathy. Because I know firsthand the power words hold, they can either wound deeply or heal profoundly. I strive to be the kind of leader whose words build, uplift, and restore.

Through my struggle, I had to rebuild. I had to reinvent myself. I had to overcome the words that struck me like a two-edged sword.

Those words tried to define me, to confine me, to weaken me. But in the rebuilding, I found strength. In the reinvention, I found clarity. And in overcoming, I found my voice again.

Now, when I am silent, there is strength in that silence. There is wisdom behind it. It is not weakness, not fear – but intentional restraint. A silence rooted in growth, in discernment, and in power.

As a union leader, I strive to move with purpose and in solidarity – with love for all, and with the courage to fight for what is right.

I stand not just for myself, but for every voice that feels unheard, every worker who feels unseen, and every person who deserves dignity.

Soft reminder: every journey begins with a single step. Mine began the moment I choose not to be defined by the words that tried to break me.

One step can start a journey, and one step started my journey”

Alexis Rean-Walker

In Solidarity,

HPAE 5094 Communications Committee