Mona Papillon

She’s Protecting the People Who Are Protecting Women’s Rights

The National Partnership for Women & Families has been instrumental in passing some of America’s most important legislation to protect women, including the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. As women’s rights are rolled back across the country, COO Mona Papillon helping is ensuring that the nonprofit can continue its fight for women’s health, reproductive rights, and economic justice. Papillon, who spent more than 20 years at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before joining the National Partnership in 2022, successfully negotiated its first collective bargaining agreement with its unionized staff last year, providing annual salary increases, transparent performance reviews, and 16 weeks of fully paid family and medical leave. Thanks to Papillon’s leadership, the group was able to continue its crucial advocacy for federal paid family leave and make an impact in 2024 battleground state elections in Wisconsin and Nevada by funding ad campaigns.

By Audrey Goodson Kingo