Gayle Alexander

Gayle Alexander, now retired, has spent the last 50 years of her professional career as a master counselor in private practice, mediator, spiritual advisor, and educational consultant. A graduate of the George Peabody College for Teachers, a Masters program on the campus of Vanderbilt University, she worked with students and their families across the US helping them to find and develop their “best fit” with private secondary schools and college which she regularly visited personally. Whether in US or in Europe, she was a popular lecturer, speaker, retreat leader on college campuses. She served on the International Development Council of Rushlikon, Switzerland and regularly traveled to Vienna, Austria and Zurich, Switzerland.

A native of Missouri, she accepted a position as Youth Minister in Beaumont, Texas where she met and married her husband, David K. Alexander. In 1953, they came to Nashville to serve as chaplains on the campus of Vanderbilt University working with International Students. In 1956, they built the retreat center which would serve as location for her consulting firm, Gayle Alexander and Assoc. which would bless the lives of thousands directly and indirectly.

Gayle has always said “It is not what you know so much as the persons you align yourself with and learn from.” Years spent face to face with mentors such as Viktor Frankl, Elizabeth Kubler Ross, Virginia Satir, Norman Cousins, and John Claypool gave Gayle the tools with which to weave her healing approach—The Love Motif. The application and integration of this in her life has brought her authentic peace and harmony.

Gayle is also the creator of the Spiritual Journeys for Woman Program which is now in its 27th year at First Presbyterian Church of Nashville, TN. She has brought her knowledge, expertise, spirituality, and delightful humor to influence several generations. The Spiritual Journeys Program is carried on by her daughters.