22 Gay City News Impact Awards 2020
HONOREE
TRACIE M. GARDNER
VICE PRESIDENT OF POLICY ADVOCACY, THE LEGAL ACTION CENTER
Tracie M. Gardner, the vice president of policy advocacy at the Legal
Action Center, has worked nearly 30 years in the health and social
services policy arena — both in the non-profi t and the government
sectors — as a policy advocate, trainer, and lobbyist.
The Legal Action Center (LAC) employs legal and policy strategies to fi ght discrimination, build health equity, and restore
opportunity for people with criminal records, substance use disorders, and HIV or AIDS. The group aims to dismantle
the historic and persistent impact of systemic racism that has fueled mass incarceration and disparate community health
outcomes.
As vice president of policy advocacy, Tracie spearheads major initiatives and fosters strategic partnerships that support
LAC’s mission. She has led advocacy campaigns that won substantial increases in funding for substance use, for HIV, and
for alternatives to incarceration and for reentry services. Her work has led to the passage of landmark HIV confi dentiality
and testing legislation and criminal justice reforms.
Tracie serves as a lead spokesperson for LAC and oversees the group’s racial justice and equity work.
From 2015 to 2017, Tracie served in two posts in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration. As the assistant secretary
of mental hygiene in the State Health Department, she oversaw the Offi ce of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services,
the Offi ce of Mental Health, Offi ce for People with Developmental Disabilities, the Developmental Disabilities Planning
Council, and the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs.
As a criminal justice specialist within the Health Department, Tracie focused on special projects to promote Medicaid
enrollment and healthcare access for the justice-involved population in the Offi ce of Health Insurance Programs. She also
coordinated the governor’s 2016 Heroin Opiate Legislative Initiative.
Prior to her work in the Cuomo administration, Tracie was a key member of LAC for more than 14 years, serving as
LAC’s co-director of policy. In that role she conducted and coordinated LAC’s New York State public policy advocacy on
budget and legislative matters related to criminal justice, addiction, and HIV/ AIDS.
Earlier in her career, Tracie carried out healthcare management training, HIV/ AIDS policy advocacy, and policy
analysis with the Hudson Planning Group, the Harlem Directors Group, and the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies.
Tracie, who received her BA from Mount Holyoke College, is a board member at the Advocacy Institute, which supports
the legislative advocacy of social justice and movement-building organizations in New York City and State, and at NEXT
Distro, an online and mail-based harm reduction platform aimed at reducing drug overdose deaths and drug-related
health problems in rural and suburban areas.