Winner
Melissa Fowler
Chief Program Officer, National Abortion Federation
The Executive Working to Increase Funding for Abortion Care
In a post Roe v. Wade era, roughly 25 million women and girls of reproductive age live in a state where abortion is banned or severely restricted. Working to increase their access to abortion care is the National Abortion Federation’s Chief Program Officer Melissa Fowler. In her role, she provides leadership for the organization’s membership services, including its fundraising and development portfolio, to cover traveling expenses for individuals who have to go out of state for care. NAF reports that, in 2023, a year after the Supreme Court’s decision, the organization’s National Abortion Hotline, which is the leading multi-lingual abortion assistance hotline in the United States, saw a 235% increase in plane or bus trips and a 195% increase in hotel room bookings. Fowler has led the charge in building relationships with funders to sustain this ongoing need.
By Courtney Connley
