Cook County Higher Education 300 W 3rd St, Grand Marais, MN 55604
“In early 2020, The Vulnerable Child Protection Act was introduced in the Florida House of Representatives. If passed, the bill would have made it a felony for doctors to help aid a transgender youth’s transition. During this time, Dr. Alexys Hillman operated her own private practice in Pensacola, FL, which was Northwest Florida’s only informed consent clinic for transgender healthcare at the time. Beyond her work as a healthcare provider, Dr. Hillman has worked as a transgender activist, speaking at rallies, going on the news, and directing and producing a docu-series on transgender healthcare in the United States. While the most recent Florida law that blocked gender-affirming care for transgender minors was struck down by a federal judge on June 11, 2024, there are still 23 states that impose professional or legal penalties on health care practitioners providing minors with gender-affirming care.
Join us for a Q&A with Dr. Hillman to learn more about her experience providing gender-affirming care and as a transgender activist in Florida.
Dr. Alexys J. Hillman was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, where she graduated magna cum laude from Temple University in 2007. At that time, she was also recognized as a Distinguished Military Graduate from the Temple University Army ROTC Program, from which she received her commission as a second lieutenant. She went on to attend and graduate from Western University College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific with a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree in 2011. She entered active duty in the U.S. Army in 2011, where she completed her family medicine residency and achieved her board certification. She served honorably until 2017, including assignments at Fort Benning, Georgia, and Seoul, South Korea. From 2018 to 2021, she operated her own private practice in Pensacola, FL, which at the time was Northwest Florida's only informed consent clinic for transgender healthcare. Dr. Hillman's professional interests include end-of-life planning and grief and she has received certifications both as a death doula as well as a Grief Recovery Method Specialist. In her spare time, she is also an amateur filmmaker and screenwriter. Her first docu-series, How To Dream, has received several awards and was a finalist in the 2021 Swedish International Film Festival. She also enjoys ghost tours, crocheting, and reading. She moved to Cook County in the summer of 2023 with her husband and two sons when she joined the provider team at Sawtooth Mountain Clinic.”