Go to Content Go to Navigation Go to Navigation Go to Site Search Homepage

I was your average student at my Catholic high school. I grew up in a middle class family on the cusp. We didn’t have resources for health insurance so years before becoming sexually active, I made my first visit to Planned Parenthood for care. It was there that I found help navigating a complex community health care system. This was huge – and it helped shape my future career.

I went on to college, and put knowledge into action when I began organizing with a labor union and became hooked on advocacy work. After volunteering with the ACLU, I was hired as an organizer for a Colorado Congressional candidate. On that campaign my job involved calling unaffiliated voters. Many people were apathetic and disillusioned by the election, but when I listened, it was clear that they were concerned about the issues, especially when I asked, "do you care about your uterus?" This experience showed me that reproductive rights issues can cut through the noise and transcend political boundaries. When we take time to engage in conversations about control of our bodies and how that translates to freedom, people turn out to vote.

That's why I became involved with Planned Parenthood. As an organizer and activist, I take policy and make it easier to comprehend; to spur action without overwhelming people. Sometimes it is as simple as saying, take out your phones and text five of your friends. Ask them to call Senator Gardner.  We make some noise. That’s how we do it.

Planned Parenthood was and is the gateway to the rest of my civil rights and liberties. I am now in my mid-20s and part of the next generation of women rising to the occasion. I was a patient, a volunteer, an employee, and a donor. My name is Jen, and I am an influencer: marching, advocating, standing up, and standing together for reproductive health care and rights.

Tags:

Make a Difference Locally

The stakes for public health and our access to health care could hardly be higher. Volunteer with us and get involved in the fight for reproductive rights in Colorado.

Volunteer With Us

Sign-up for Email Alerts

We'll keep you updated on major policy decisions and breaking news in Colorado and at the federal level.

Sign-up

Defeat Attacks on Health Care

Fight for laws and policies to protect your rights and health. Make a gift to Planned Parenthood Votes Colorado now.

Donate Now

We and our third partners use cookies and other tools to collect, store, monitor, and analyze information about your interaction with our site to improve performance, analyze your use of our sites and assist in our marketing efforts. You may opt out of the use of these cookies and other tools at any time by visiting Cookie Settings. By clicking “Allow All Cookies” you consent to our collection and use of such data, and our Terms of Use. For more information, see our Privacy Notice.

Cookie Settings

We, and our third-party partners, use cookies, pixels, and other tracking technologies to collect, store, monitor, and process certain information about you when you access and use our services, read our emails, or otherwise engage with us. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences, or your device. We use that information to make the site work, analyze performance and traffic on our website, to provide a more personalized web experience, and assist in our marketing efforts. We also share information with our social media, advertising, and analytics partners. You can change your default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our Necessary Cookies as they are deployed to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information, please see our Privacy Notice.

Marketing

On

We use online advertising to promote our mission and help constituents find our services. Marketing pixels help us measure the success of our campaigns.

User Feedback and Session Replay

On

We use qualitative data from LogRocket, UserZoom, Hotjar and AB Tasty to learn about your user experience and improve our products and services. LogRocket allows us to view session replays.