Andy Short grew up just outside Boston and said he sadly did not inherit the wicked Boston accents of his parents. He has spent his career working at the intersection of arts, addiction recovery, and LGBTQ community building.

Currently, as Senior Regional Manager of The Phoenix—a nonprofit that creates a free, sober, active community for people in recovery—he oversees in-person and virtual programming and cross-functional projects. His region has reached almost 200,000 individuals during his tenure.

As a gay man in recovery from addiction, Andy understands how personal narrative, mission, and service can combine to create change in relationships and community. This is the defining theme of his work and career. He has consistently built inclusive organizations and programs nationwide.

Andy is a 2019 recipient of Wayside Youth Coalition’s Community Spirit award, the winner of the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network’s 2019 Excellence Award in the Young Professional category, receiving commendation from the Massachusetts Senate and House, and a recipient of the Upswell Fellowship.

Expected to graduate from UCLA in 2027, Andy is pursuing the Executive MPH at UCLA to integrate his practical knowledge of recovery program development with a formal understanding of healthcare business models, with the goal of driving sustainable, innovative solutions in public health.

How do you spend your free time?

“I currently live in North Hollywood with my drag queen fiancé, a Chihuahua mix named Potato, and a mostly hairless cat named Colleen. I occasionally bicycles in far off lands and hope to be on Survivor someday.”