On Friday, July 14, 2023, Planned Parenthood Action Fund of the Pacific Southwest Public Affairs Manager, Judith Vaughs, will be honored at the Spirit of Stonewall Rally as the 2023 Friend of Pride across San Diego County.
Judith, is a fervent community organizer, and a fierce advocate for reproductive justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and health care access for everyone.
Daughter of two U.S. Veterans, Judy currently works as a Public Affairs Manager for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest. Throughout her career as an organizer, she has worked alongside numerous LGBTQ+ led organizations like San Diego Pride, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), and Equality California. She has a deep understanding that LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive rights are intrinsically woven and centers her organizing work around the principles of reproductive justice and her personal justice-centered values.
In 2022, she organized an impressive 50-person phonebank with the HRC and Equality California in support of Prop 1, which codified the right to abortion, and which successfully passed during the 2022 midterm election. Judy has trained student clubs, volunteers, and community partners on the importance of centering LGBTQ+ people in the reproductive rights movement and is passionate about this intersection. In recent years, Judy worked collaboratively to pass the first county-funded full spectrum doula pilot program, and works with Black and queer-led doula organizations to expand services to all pregnant people.
In 2021, Judy was awarded the Audre Lorde Emerging Leader Award from the San Diego Coalition on Reproductive Justice, and is continuing to work on campaigns that promote and expand reproductive justice policies at the local level.
Of this honor, Judy says “Pride is a time to celebrate and be centered in joy. I would like to remind people that we should really strive to let the energy and spirit of Pride move beyond June and July, because this is a life or death matter. We need to take this work personally and be ready to show up! Just show up. Don’t think of allyship, just think of showing up for another human.”
We are so proud to have Judy on our team and are grateful for her leadership and her meaningful work in the community.
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