AMANDA MCALLISTER- WALLNER (she/her) is the Executive Director of Health Access. Amanda joined Health Access in 2016 as the Director of the California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network. In her role as Director of the Network, she developed a statewide LGBTQ health policy agenda and successfully advocated for policies that strengthened collection of sexual orientation and gender identity data and improved access to LGBTQ-affirming services. She was also instrumental in securing the initial $17.5 million investment to create the Gender Health Equity Unit (GHEU) within the California Department of Public Health’s Office of Health Equity, as well as funding for subsequent GHEU programs. Amanda was named Health Access’s first Deputy Director in 2021, providing oversight for Health Access’ policy, organizing, communications, and LGBTQ HHS Network teams and supporting the organization’s advocacy campaigns including #Health4All, Care4All California, and the effort to establish the Office of Health Care Affordability. As Health Access’ interim Executive Director from 2024-2025, she has been a leader in the federal campaign to defend Medi-Cal and Fight For Our Health.
Before joining Health Access, Amanda worked as Health Policy Fellow and later the Policy and Operations Manager at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, coordinating research, advocacy on coalition work on a variety of policy issues affecting the LGBTQ community, including immigration, women’s health, youth homelessness, and regulating the “troubled teen industry.” Prior to graduate school, Amanda worked for Sierra Club California as a legislative aide and organizer. Amanda also worked on electoral campaigns ranging from county supervisor to Congress, and volunteered on marriage equality ballot initiatives in Maine and North Carolina.
Amanda has a Master of Public Policy from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She currently lives in Sacramento with her wife Morgan.
