Alexander grew up in England and attended Brunts Grammar School in Mansfield. As a child she was forbidden from attending any religious classes at school by her father. It was not until she was 25 that she was baptized with her eldest child in the Church of England. Alexander graduated from Newcastle University in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours, having completed a thesis on English liturgical music from 1370 to 1430. She then worked as a music teacher, eventually specializing in special education. After moving to Canada with her family in 1990, Alexander earned a Master of Education degree in 1993, followed by a Ph.D. degree in educational psychology in 1996, both from the University of Alberta. She then worked as a professor in educational psychology at the University of Alberta.
Ministry
In 1998 Alexander was ordained as a deacon. She was ordained as a priest in 2001 after earning her Masters of Theological Studies from Newman Theological College, a private Roman Catholic college. She worked at a number of parishes in the Diocese of Edmonton. In 2006 she was appointed Dean of All Saints' Cathedral in Edmonton. Before stepping to episcopacy, she is involved in a movement to eliminate poverty in Edmonton caused by inequality. According to statistical data, it is the most unequal province in the country. She took leadership in a Call To End Poverty in Edmonton leading to coming up with concrete proposals on many fronts, including early childhood education, daycare, living wage, affordable transit and job training which made her more an embodiment of a true Christian leader.
Episcopate
In 2007 Bishop Victoria Matthews resigned as Bishop of Edmonton and Alexander became diocesan administrator in her capacity as dean of the diocese. She was elected to be the next bishop on 8 March 2008 on the third ballot. Alexander was consecrated as a bishop at All Saints' Cathedral and formally installed as Bishop of Edmonton on 11 May 2008, the feast of Pentecost. Alexander's succeeding of Matthews as Bishop of Edmonton was the first instance in the Anglican Communion in which a female diocesan bishop succeeded another. Matthews was Alexander's ordaining bishop for her diaconal and priestly ordinations and was a co-consecrator for her episcopal ordination. Alexander is stepping down as Bishop of Edmonton on 31 December 2020.
