Alexandra Peeler photograph collection

Alexandra Ann Peeler (née David) was born in 1938 in Simpson, Pennsylvania. She attended Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania and received a Bachelor of Arts in English. From 1962 to 1964 she studied at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and received a Master’s Degree in Journalism. Peeler then earned a Master of Fine Arts in Film Production from Columbia University in New York City in 1970, where she also worked as a teaching assistant from 1968 to 1969. Prior to obtaining her advanced degrees, Peeler trained as a postulate nun of the Order of Discalced Carmelites at the Carmelite Monastery located in Wheeling, West Virginia. Additionally, she was a member of several Polish cultural organizations and groups supporting the Polish Solidarity Movement. She was married to her husband David Holmes Peeler (1938-2021) for 51 years and they had three children: Kirsten, Heather, and Paula.

Peeler served as Director of Communications for Catholic Charities USA located in Alexandria, Virginia for over 20 years and later served as Director of Communications for the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C. From 1972 to 1975, she was the Associate Director of Public Affairs for the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (JHMI) and also became the editor and photographer for “Under the Dome,” a publication produced by JHMI. She died in 2022 in Frederick, Maryland.

The Johns Hopkins Hospital Office of Public Affairs originated in the 1940s as an administrative department called the Johns Hopkins Hospital Public Relations Office. The Office later became responsible for the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (JHMI), comprising the Johns Hopkins Hospital and its School of Nursing, as well as the Johns Hopkins University's School of Medicine and School of Hygiene and Public Health. The Office was responsible for media and press relations; special events and projects; and institutional publications, such as “Hopkins Medical News,” the “Johns Hopkins Hospital Annual Report,” and “Dome” (originally titled "Under the Dome”).