JULIA G. KAHRL, Ph.D. grew up in a household where reproductive health was dinner table conversation. Judy’s father was a pioneer in the field. When she was having her children, she became involved with the movement for women to be able to make decisions about where and how they gave birth. She also worked with La Leche League International as they promoted breastfeeding throughout the US and beyond.

On a trip to Mozambique with Pathfinder International, Judy saw the leadership and influence older women had with young women and recognized the power grandmothers have in a community. Back in the US, Judy shared the anger that people of her generation felt about restrictions on abortion and family planning. Believing that anger could be harnessed on behalf of all grandchildren, Judy founded GRR! in 2013.

Judy graduated from Radcliffe College and earned her Ph.D. in adult education at Ohio State University. Judy and her late husband, Stan Kahrl, have four children and eight grandchildren.

DENISE MILL PARKER was born and raised in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. She graduated with a B.S. in Nursing from The Ohio State University. Later, she earned her MBA at The George Washington University in Washington DC.

While working in various healthcare roles her entire career—from direct patient care to hospital and medical group administration—she became acutely aware of disparities in care and worked to alleviate some of the burdens experienced by the disenfranchised. Denise is married to a retired neuroradiologist and has four adult sons, three daughters-in-law, and two grandchildren.

DEBORAH DE WITT has been active as a volunteer for 40 years, with a commitment to reproductive rights. She began her volunteer work with Planned Parenthood Westchester in the early 1980s. Deborah has served as a board member of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Guttmacher Institute, Ipas, and Pathfinder International.

Deborah lives in Deer Isle, Maine, and joined the board of GRR! in 2020. She is also a board member of Native Gardens of Blue Hill.

She retired in 2006 as Tax Director of GE’s Treasury operations. Before joining GE in 1996, she was a partner at Ernst & Young in New York City. Her clients were principally in the financial services industries.

Deborah has an M.B.A. from Columbia University. She graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. in economics.

Before retiring to Maine, Caroline lived in Massachusetts where she was involved in various businesses. When her children were very young, she was in the daycare business. After her children were older, Caroline became a general manager in the real estate and support services business in Boston. From there, she joined a residential real estate brokerage firm as a sales associate. Caroline spent the summers in Georgetown, Maine, and in 2004 she and her husband moved to Bath, Maine.

Connie Adler, MD, has provided healthcare for women in Maine for over 30 years, while insisting that women’s health includes reproductive rights and freedom from Domestic Violence and sexual assault. She was on the Board of Directors of Maine Family Planning for 20 years, and served as well on the Boards of the Maine Health Access Foundation, her hospital in Farmington, and others . She has worked in Central America on training providers and
improving obstetrical care to women there.
Dr. Adler has won the Maine Women’s Fund leadership award for service to women, the Maine Medical Association award for humanitarian service promoting safe obstetric care for women in Nicaragua, the Hanley Center award for physician leadership, and was inducted into the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame for being a physician advocate for women’s health.

Ann has actively fought for reproductive justice since she risked getting an illegal abortion in New York City in 1968, shortly after entering Yale Law School. By the time she graduated from the Law School in 1971, she had organized Women vs. Connecticut, which signed up thousands of women plaintiffs in a class action to challenge the constitutionality of Connecticut’s anti abortion laws. The class action, Abele v. Markle, won the right for women to bodily autonomy in the lower federal courts and those decisions were affirmed in 1973 by the U.S. Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade.

Ann brought another lawsuit on behalf of poor women in Connecticut, who were being denied Medicaid payments for abortion, unless the State found the abortion to be medically necessary. This case, Roe v. Maher, was decided against poor women by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1977. Eventually, Connecticut and some other states decided to pay for Medicaid abortions without “medical necessity” restrictions. Then along came the Dobbs decision in 2022. Ann had joined the Board of GRR! months before the Dobbs decision, and she has continued her fight for reproductive justice with the award-winning podcast on Apple Plus called Roe v. Wade, which was produced by Slate and aired in June, 2022. Currently, she is strengthening GRR!’s presence in Northern California where she lives.

For 30 years (1981-2011) Ann served as a Deputy District Attorney in a county in California prosecuting major felonies, including child molest, rape, and murder, and was an active board member of the local Rape Crisis Center.

Leah Coplon CNM, MPH is the Director of Clinical Operations for Abortion on Demand, a telehealth abortion service providing care in 23 states. Prior to her work at AOD, Leah served as the Program Director and an abortion provider at Maine Family Planning overseeing telehealth services and strategizing to find innovative ways to increase access to abortion, contraception, and gender affirming healthcare via telehealth. Leah has also participated in research and writing about the safety and efficacy of telehealth and sexual and reproductive healthcare. Leah has worked as an Assistant Professor of Nursing at the University of New England and has practiced full-scope midwifery and worked as a labor and delivery nurse. Leah received a BA in sociology/anthropology from Carleton College, a BSN from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Science and Certificate of Nurse-Midwifery from Jefferson, and a Master of Public Health from the University of New England.

Sarah Thompson is a retired school librarian who lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She has been married to Brian for 42 years. They have one son, Andrew, who also lives in Fayetteville, with
his wife, Chelsea, and their two golden retrievers. Since retiring in 2012, Sarah has dedicated her time and energy to ensuring that access to abortion remains legal in the United State. She served as president of the Planned Parenthood Voters of Arkansas board, is a member of the Planned Parenthood Great Plains Community Outreach committee, has lobbied for reproductive rights at the Arkansas State Capitol, and participated in rallies and events with the Arkansas Coalition for Reproductive Justice and other organizations. As a genealogy fanatic, Sarah spends much of her leisure time researching ancestors and creating a huge family tree on Ancestry.

Tori D Willis was born and raised in Boston, MA. A proud member of the Sigma Beta Delta International Honor Society, she graduated with a Master of Management from Cambridge College. She later earned a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University.

Tori is a leader with over 20 years of experience in operations and administration, dedicated to championing causes that advance economic, social, and political justice. As the Director of Operations & Culture at the Initiative for Energy Justice (IEJ), she is a part of IEJ’s leadership team leading all the Initiative for Energy Justice’s internal operations, including administration, systems, technology, grants management and finance. She is also responsible for leading efforts to shape and nurture IEJ’s culture and morale to foster an equitable, anti-oppressive, joyful, and effective work culture.

Prior to joining the team at IEJ, Tori was Senior Administrative Manager at Pathfinder International, an NGO that focuses on sexual and reproductive health and rights. There she provided strategic leadership in administration, oversaw the global travel program and policy, and served as the leader of the US Racial Justice Leadership Team. As an adviser and thought partner to Pathfinder’s leadership team, she contributed to the organization’s commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

As a native Bostonian, Tori is an avid fan of all things Boston sports! She finds joy in spending time with family, at church, and traveling the world.