Announcing the 99 Dream Keepers' Defenders
By Miriam Berg | Feb. 18, 2015, 7 p.m.
Category: Health Care Equity
Where would we be without our policy allies? They ensure that women, men, and young people here and abroad have the tools for family planning and reproductive health care. By supporting legislation and securing funding for programs, they look after our physical, mental, and economic well-being.
We have a long history of public engagement — from fighting for suffrage, integration and health care — and we need our Defenders to advance our causes.
Representative Stacey Abrams
House Minority Leader for the Georgia General Assembly and State Representative for the 89th House District
The first woman to lead in the Georgia General Assembly and the first African American to lead in the House of Representatives, Rep. Adams has spoken favorably about expanding Medicaid.
Congresswoman Alma Adams
Representative for North Carolina's 12th District
Congresswoman Adams was the key spokesperson in the North Carolina General Assembly on the issue of women’s reproductive rights. She believes that a woman cannot call herself free if she does not own and control her own body.
[@RepAlmaSAdams]
Senator Cory Booker
Junior Senator for New Jersey
Senator Booker, a strong supporter of women, has spoken up about the need for equal pay for equal work, legislation to raise the federal minimum wage, and the expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Tamia Booker
Director of African American and Women's Outreach, Immediate Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Booker is an important champion for women, reaching out to ensure that uninsured women have access to coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
Mayor Muriel Bowser
District of Columbia Mayor
Mayor Bowser, the second female mayor in Washington, DC, has filled leadership positions with strong women. The residents of DC know they are in the best hands possible with a mayor committed to uplifting the middle class.
Senator Jean Breaux
Indiana Senate, 34th district
State Senator Breaux has been a strong supporter of women’s preventive health care. She has voted against legislation that would impede a woman's choice to decide what is best for her reproductive needs.
State Representative Charlie Brown
Indiana House of Representatives, 3rd District
A believer in universal health care, State Representative Brown supports accepting Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. He has been a leader in assisting uninsured and under-insured women to receive the care they need, and he has been instrumental in providing educational and emotional support to cancer patient families.
Congressman G.K. Butterfield
Representative for North Carolina's 1st district
Congressman Butterfield has been a staunch advocate for ending poverty, a great barrier to access to health care. He has been instrumental in strengthening and protecting social welfare programs that many women and families rely on as a safety net for economic stability.
State Representative Dawnna Dukes
Texas House of Representatives, 46th District
In her efforts to provide women and children with access to preventive health care, State Representative Dukes notably defended the Women's Health Program in Texas (a Medicaid waiver program), from Governor Rick Perry’s attacks on Planned Parenthood, which at the time served over 40% of the women enrolled. She expanded the Children's Health Insurance Program and has been especially active in providing the resources needed to keep children safe while preserving families.
Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal
Senator for District 14 in the Missouri Senate
Outspoken about the need to reform our justice system, State Senator Chappelle-Nadal has addressed concerns about racism in the United States.
Dr. Vignetta Charles
Senior Vice President of AIDS United
A key leader in working to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States, Dr. Charles is also an advocate for gender equity and comprehensive sex education.
Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman
Representative for New Jersey's 12th District
Congresswoman Coleman believes that a woman’s right to decide whether or not to have an abortion is between her and her doctor. She is committed to protecting women’s access to comprehensive reproductive health care services including access to contraceptives, education regarding all reproductive options, and support for healthy pregnancies.
[@BWatsonColeman]
State Senator Toi Hutchinson
Illinois Senate, 40th District
State Senator Hutchinson's commitment to women's health is evident in bills she has sponsored in the past that would protect pregnant women from discrimination and requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers.
State Senator Arthenia Joyner
Florida Senate, 19th District
State Senator Joyner has been a leader dedicated to women's rights and civil rights since the 1960s, when she protested alongside other young activists in Florida. She is a co-sponsor of the Florida Civil Rights Act, which would have protected women from workplace discrimination.
@JoynerforSenate
Congresswoman Robin Kelly
Representative for Illinois's 2nd District
Rep. Kelly has long put women’s interests first — from her support of the Affordable Care Act to her sponsorship of legislation on teen dating violence education. She has been tapped to serve as Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus’s Health Braintrust for the 114th Congress.
Crystal Lander
Policy and Advocacy Director, Management Sciences for Health
Lander works to increase access to quality health care for all by educating leaders in Congress and decision makers abroad about ways to fix broken systems.
Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence
Representative for Michigan's 14th District
Formerly the mayor of Southfield, Michigan (the first woman and first African American ever elected), Congresswoman Lawrence has supported women's health by endorsing tighter gun laws, defending Medicare, supporting a minimum wage increase, and supporting equal pay and paycheck fairness.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee
Representative for California’s 13th District
Congresswoman Lee has publicly spoken out on the importance of family planning, comprehensive sex education, and safe and legal abortion, both domestically and internationally — as well as the importance of raising the minimum wage, an important feature in addressing women's health.
Caya Lewis
Counselor to the Secretary for Science and Public Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Lewis has been a leader in health care policy on Capitol Hill, for the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She continues to develop and lead the healthcare administered by a range of government agencies.
Gregorio Millett
Vice President and Director of Public Policy, amfAR
Millet previously worked at the White House as a senior policy advisor and is one of three principal writers of the Obama administration’s national HIV/AIDS strategy. He has worked tirelessly to challenge stereotypes about black men’s sexuality.
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Executive Director, UN Women
Previously the highest-ranking woman in the history of South African politics, Mlambo-Ngcuka has always championed women's global issues such as domestic violence, poverty, and leadership representation.
Congresswoman Gwen Moore
Representative for Wisconsin's 4th District
Formerly the Democratic Chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, Rep. Moore has supported legislative efforts against domestic violence and date rape and has fought for funding for women’s shelters.
The Women of Echoing Ida
Echoing Ida is a project of Forward Together that aims to develop and amplify the thought leadership of Black women to further social justice."
Working at the intersection of race, gender, and health care, the Echoing Ida collective creates an environment for black women to create political and social commentary.
Tags: African Americans for Planned Parenthood, Black History Month, Dreamkeepers, 99 Dreamkeepers, PP Black Community
