Childs-Roshak to Step Down as CEO of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts

Childs-Roshak will Step Down at End of the Year 

August 31, 2022 (Boston, MA) – Dr. Jennifer Childs-Roshak, MD, MBA will step down as CEO and President of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM) at the end of the year. Dr. Childs-Roshak joined PPLM, the state’s largest freestanding sexual and reproductive health care provider, in 2015 as the organization’s first physician leader.  

Every year, PPLM provides a wide range of high-quality health care services to over 30,000 patients across Massachusetts; educates thousands of young people, parents, and professionals through PPLM’s nationally recognized sex education programs; and conducts clinical and social science research to advance public health nationwide. Under Childs-Roshak’s leadership, PPLM has improved its health care delivery and research capabilities, heightened its focus on access and equity, and grown from a $20 million to a $32 million organization. 

“I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to lead PPLM through these challenging times,” said Dr. Childs-Roshak. “Throughout it all, we kept our patients, staff, and the care we offer at the center of all we do. I am thankful to our dedicated team, Board, partners, donors, volunteers, and, most importantly, to our patients who entrusted us with their care during some of the most critical times of their lives. I have full confidence that PPLM will continue to be a beacon of quality health care for patients from Massachusetts and across the country.”  

“As PPLM’s first physician leader, Jen has improved our care delivery and research while centering equity in all that we do,” said Wanda McClain, Chair of PPLM’s Board of Directors. “We are so grateful for her outstanding leadership and advocacy over these past seven years. This transition also is a reminder that the work we do at PPLM is bigger than any one individual. We as a Board are steadfast in our dedication to our mission and moving it forward, stronger than ever before.” 

Under Dr. Childs-Roshak’s leadership and vision of addressing persisting sexual and reproductive health disparities, PPLM has expanded its scope of health care services, created new cutting-edge education programs and resources, established a social science research department, and strengthened its community outreach programs and strategic partnerships across the state. Childs-Roshak has also initiated PPLM’s ambitious journey to become a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable organization in order to better serve communities in the Commonwealth, including adding important services like HIV prevention care, gender affirming hormone therapy, patient navigation, and case management to encourage follow up and continuity of care.   

Dr. Childs-Roshak and coalition partners successfully advocated for legislation to codify protections for Massachusetts providers in concordance with Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s executive order to protect access to reproductive health care following the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade. In 2020, Dr. Childs-Roshak worked with state legislators, coalition partners, and advocates in Massachusetts to pass the ROE Act to expand abortion access in the state. During the pandemic, Dr. Childs Roshak worked to ensure people had access to vital health care through telehealth.  

In 2016, in the face of renewed national attacks, Dr. Childs-Roshak expanded the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund to bolster its ability to advance reproductive rights and health equity on the state and local level. These efforts proved successful: in the 2017-2018 legislative session, PPAF successfully advocated for several state policies to protect and expand access to no copay birth control for 1.4 million people, improve access to confidential care, and repeal archaic abortion laws. 

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