April Hejka-Ekins was born in 1947 and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and History in 1969 from Northern Illinois University and a Masters degree in Social Work from University of Illinois, Chicago Circle Campus in 1971. She worked as a therapist and Director of Family and Children Services at Gordon Mental Health Center in DeKalb, Illinois in the 1970’s.
In 1980, she attended the Summer Convention of the Theosophical Society in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. She was looking for a deeper metaphysical understanding of life and found Theosophy fascinating. At the convention, she also met her future husband, Jerry Hejka-Ekins, who was the president of Los Angeles Lodge of the Theosophical Society. April moved to Los Angeles in 1980 and decided to work with Jerry at LA Lodge. When she was elected Vice President, April provided a program of study groups and speakers for the advancement of the Ancient Wisdom.
A major theme for April & Jerry during the 1980”s became networking with various
Theosophical organizations in the Southern California region. For example, in1984, Jerry and April organized a networking conference in Ojai, CA that brought together the heads of various organizations, such as the John Algeo from the T.S. in America, Henry Gieger from the United Lodge of Theosophists, Emmett Small from Point Loma Publications and Kirby Van Mater from Pasadena Theosophical Society. This was the first of many initiatives to foster cooperative relations among various Theosophical groups.
When April earned a Ph,D, in Public Administration in 1988 from University of Southern California, she and Jerry moved to Turlock, CA in the Central Valley where she taught graduate students in Public Administration for 30 years at California State University, Stanislaus. Jerry and April continued their dedication to the spread of Theosophy by enacting 3 goals. First, they started a non-profit organization called Alexandria West, based on the fact that Jerry had amassed a Theosophical Library of over 11,000 volumes and rare achieves. Second, April as the Educational Director, developed study groups in topics such as Comparative Mythology and The Secret Doctrine for those interested in studying the Ancient Wisdom. Their third goal has been to support networking among all the Theosophical organizations. For example, April served on the board of the International Theosophical Conference (ITC) for 6 years. Even today, Alexandria West continues to work on expanding the library, providing study groups for those interested and promoting networking among Theosophical organizations.
Over the last 4 decades, April and Jerry attended and spoke at many conferences in America, Canada and Europe.It is April’s hope that the networking movement among Theosophical organizations will continue in the future to find new ways to work together while retaining their individual traditions for the advancement of Theosophy.