From the minute I wake up, I think about the people we're serving and what we're fighting for — and how we can do even better. That's been true for over a decade, when I served as a member of the Planned Parenthood board, but has been especially true every day for the past year, as I have served as Acting president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

I can't imagine spending my time any other way. So when the Board asked me to remain in this position permanently, I accepted without hesitation.

It hasn't been an easy year, by any measure. We've faced crisis after crisis, but together, we've been able to respond with courage and heart. I am in awe of this community.

We navigated the exclusion of Planned Parenthood health centers from the Title X family planning program. We fought back against attacks on access to abortion across the country. We expanded telehealth to maintain access to care for Planned Parenthood patients through the onset of the COVID‑19 pandemic. And we're working to tear down the systemic racism in our nation that stands in the way of true reproductive freedom.

My commitment to social justice started when I was a kid. I was born just after the landmark victories of the civil rights movement and just before Roe v. Wade. I remember marching alongside my parents who were boldly Black and boldly proud. They taught me what it meant to be a Black woman in America — and that each person can create change.

So I got to work. I've spent my entire career working toward equity and justice. I've worked in academia and research, as a political and cultural organizer, and have dedicated myself to advocating for reproductive rights and access to quality, affordable health care.

I think about our movement in terms of an equation. What are we solving for? What's our theory of change? In this work, I try to apply the analysis of a researcher with the strategy of an organizer and the passion of a lifelong advocate. I've built programs designed to reach young voters, and programs designed to reckon with implicit bias in institutions from hospitals to corporations, government departments, and foundations.

And more than anything, I believe in meeting people where they are — and where they need Planned Parenthood to be — with compassion and understanding.

We share the belief that you can't truly be free until you have control over your own body, your health, and your future. That's why we're in this fight. That's why we persist even — especially — when things get tough. No matter how big the attack, no matter how often they come for us, we get right back up. Because millions of people are counting on us. And because that's who we are.

This year is far from over.

We're going to see more attacks — we already have, as states pass more restrictions on access to abortion, even in the midst of a public health crisis. In the coming days we're going to see consequential rulings from the Supreme Court on abortion and on birth control.

Together, we will improve access to care. We will innovate. We will take on the hard work of defending access to safe and legal abortion against historic threats. We will reckon with racism in our fight for greater equity in health care delivery, and in the world. We will fight for the rights of all people — no matter who they are or where they live. No matter what.

I couldn't be more honored to be doing this work alongside all of you. Planned Parenthood is yours. We are shaped for the better by you. Our power comes from you. Thank you.

I'm so proud to be here with you.