| 2009 Awardees |
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Meet the Amazing 2009 Awardees!
La'Tasha is the Founder, Director and a Community Organizer with New Voices Pittsburgh: Women of Color for Reproductive Justice – the only human rights and social justice activist organization in Pittsburgh for women of color, led by women of color and about women of color. Founded in 2004, NVP serves women of color 12-35 in Pittsburgh through self-help, grassroots organizing, community education and public policy advocacy. Through La'Tasha's leadership, NVP has developed the following programs and events: the SistahSpeak! Youth Project, Environmental Justice Project, Voice Your Vote! Project, Women of Color HERStory Month and the LGBTQ Women of Color Reproductive Justice Series.
La'Tasha graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration where her activism
began. La'Tasha completed the Choice USA Gloria Steinem Leadership
Institute in 2001 and shortly thereafter became spokesperson for the EC in Student Health Services
campaign winning EC for students at night and on the weekend,
volunteered with NARAL Pro-Choice Western PA to outreach to women of
color (2001-2003), led Students for Reproductive Freedom as its
Legislative Director (2001-2002), was keynote for National Young
Women's Day of Action (2002) and co-led the United States Student
Association Pitt delegation ultimately serving as the National Chair of
the Women of Color Caucus (2002-2003).
La'Tasha currently is a Trainer and Community Educator at
the Center for Victims of Violence and Crime educating communities about
violence prevention, trauma, grief/loss, safety and sexual assault and
counseling high school students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
La’Tasha serves on the Management Circle of SisterSong Women of Color
Reproductive Health Collective in Atlanta, as President of the Urban
League Young Professionals of Greater Pittsburgh and on the Board of
Directors of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh. La’Tasha completed the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs (FPPA) (2004) and graduated from the inaugural class of the Center for Progressive Leadership Pennsylvania Political Fellows Program (2006). La'Tasha also earned a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management in Reproductive Health and Justice Policy at Heinz School of Carnegie Mellon University (2005). La’Tasha is a 2005 recipient of the Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project (PUMP) and WQED Multimedia 40 Under 40 Award, was published in the 2007 Reproductive Justice edition of off our back: the feminist newsjournal with her article, “Reproductive Justice: The Ultimate Political Countermove for Black Women” and was featured in and on the back cover of the book, Trappings: Stories of Women, Power and Clothing, published by Rutgers University Press.
Justin Diedrich, MD has been the Family Planning Research Coordinator for the Women’s Options Center at San Francisco General Hospital for the last two years. He works for the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health at UCSF. A graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, he will begin his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of California, Irvine, in June. While in medical school, he was very active in his Medical Students for Choice chapter. He sought out training in abortion and contraception at Preterm, a local free-standing abortion clinic. After completing the rotation, he arranged it so that other students could rotate through and receive training in abortion that would have been otherwise unavailable for medical students. The National Abortion Federation recognized his pro-choice advocacy work in medical school with the Elizabeth Karlin Early Achiever’s Award. Justin’s work at the Women’s Options Center has focused on improving safety, and access to contraception and abortion. He has prepared and given presentations about management of abortion complications, both nationally and internationally, and to a variety of audiences. For example, he teaches UCSF medical students to do surgical, first-trimester abortions using the papaya as a model for the uterus. Justin has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and has written chapters on the safety and prevention of abortion complications. Last year, Justin helped to blow the whistle when Popline—an international family planning research database managed by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health—began to censor searches containing the word “abortion.” He was recognized with the Preserving Core Values in Science Award by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals. With Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, a national network of pro-choice physicians, Justin helped fight against the California proposition requiring parental notification for abortion. He even created two videos that won awards in the Campaign for Teen Safety effort to fight the proposition. With this group, he has participated in lobbying for progressive reproductive health measures in Sacramento. In the coming four years, Justin will be completing his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
In the last two years UIUC Choice USA Chapter has done amazing work. Some highlights include:
Like our other chapters UIUC played an active role in making sure that birth control costs were restored on college campuses. Students for Choice gathered over 600 petition signatures for the campaign, lobbied their Congressmen in DC, and also called in to urge Bobby Rush, Burris, & Dick Durbin to stand up for the Nominal Drug Pricing Act.
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La’Tasha D. Mayes is a native of West
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and believes in the indefatigable spirit of
women. La'Tasha has dedicated her life’s work to building political,
economic and social power with women and girls and people of color
through radical systemic change and Reproductive Justice.
