Choice USA staff is a group of young, dedicated leaders who want to see real change within communities and campuses around the nation.

• Kierra Johnson, Executive Director
• Darshan Khalsa, Deputy Director
• Edith Sargon, Field Director
• Kate Childs Graham, Communications Director
• Robin Wood, Development Coordinator
• Kelley Robinson, Midwestern States Field Coordinator
• Jos Truitt, Western States Field Associate

Kierra Johnson, Executive Director of Choice USA, heads the leading pro-choice organization working to mobilize and provide support for the diverse, upcoming generation of leaders. Through her leadership, she promotes the organization’s values of shared power and authority; youth-controlled agendas; collaboration and partnership; constituent-specific strategies; learning; and diversity and inclusion. Kierra speaks clearly and powerfully about the need to engage young people and surface young leaders across progressive movements.

With many years of experience in the field, Kierra is a leader in the reproductive justice and progressive movements. She has lifted up the value of regional and cross-movement collaborations to foster youth leadership development that will strengthen the pro-choice progressive base in crucial communities in the United States. Often sought after for her expertise on youth and reproductive justice, Kierra has fostered dialogue between major national organizations and local activists to raise the voices of young people on the ground in the national debate.

In more than a decade at Choice USA, Kierra has transformed Choice USA’s image, voice and mission from a pro-choice organization with a youth project into a dynamic, youth-led and youth-focused organization. As Choice USA’s national field director, she helped Choice USA become more campaign-oriented. As development director, she developed Choice USA’s first individual donor program. Universities and other progressive organizations and conferences have often called upon her to speak to the importance of youth leadership and train young leaders. Kierra has bolstered the conversation around youth and reproductive justice through her contribution to print, radio, television and online media, including the New York Times, RH Reality Check, Feministing.com, Newsweek,Fox News and National Public Radio.

Haling from the great state of Georgia, Kierra’s journey with Choice USA started as a participant in the National Gloria Steinem Leadership Institute in 1999. She was then awarded the Maxine Waters Reproductive Freedom Fellowship in 2000. Kierra is the 2002 recipient of the Young Women of Achievement Award from the Women's Information Network (WIN) and now sits on the advisory council for WIN. She also serves as a board member for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Center for Community Change.

Darshan Khalsa, Deputy Director, began her involvement with Choice USA in 2005 as a development and communications consultant for our annual Generation to Generation Celebration. Darshan was formerly the Deputy Director at the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (CAPACD), the first national organization dedicated to addressing the housing and community development needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. In 2004, Darshan founded the Racial Justice Campaign, a program of Progressive Majority that works to support and elect progressive candidates of color to state and local political offices and to increase the collective political power of all communities of color. Darshan is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento and New York University School of Law. She was born in Sioux City, Iowa and grew up Vacaville, California. Recently, in an attempt to give up workaholism, she has begun a personal campaign to see how many beaches she can nap on before she is 40.

Edith Sargon, Field Director, started working with Choice USA as a student at UC Santa Barbara when she participated in the Gloria Steinem Leadership Institute 2000. Edith graduated UCSB with a degree in women’s studies and her unofficial other major (campus organizing). She served as chairs of the UCSB Women’s Commission and Student Commission on Racial Equality and served a year as the External Vice President. Edith graduated college and began work as a union organizer with the Service Employees International Union. She had the pleasure of working with public sector union members and organizing new membership. Although she was no longer working on campus with Choice USA she had the opportunity to serve on the board of directors of the organization for the past two years. She is from the great state of California and is happy to talk to anyone who will listen about how great Los Angeles is!

Kate Childs Graham, Communications Director, leads Choice USA’s communications efforts, concentrating on lifting up the voices of local leaders through traditional and new media around issues pertaining to reproductive justice. Prior to joining Choice USA, Kate served as communications associate at Catholics for Choice. She holds degrees from the Catholic University of America and the UN-mandated University for Peace. A leader in the progressive Catholic community, Kate writes a monthly column for the National Catholic Reporter and is a member of the Call To Action Next Generation Leadership Team. In her spare time, you can find Kate sitting on her front porch, playing guitar.

Robin Wood, Development Coordinator, brings a background in grassroots fundraising paired with youth leadership development and facilitation. Robin most recently worked as an account manager for a Democratic direct mail firm, creating winning communication strategies for state and federal races. He has also worked with national LGBT rights organizations, including the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force where he was part of the team that re-launched the National Conference on LGBT Equality – Creating Change. Robin is a graduate of the George Washington University where he served as Political Director for Allied in Pride, the campus LGBT student organization. He has volunteered as a facilitator and group director for Denver-based Leader's Challenge, delivering hands on training in civic engagement and community service. Currently, Robin serves as the Vice President of the board for Youth Pride Alliance and sits on the board of the DC Center, two LGBT organizations dedicated to serving the DC metro community. Robin currently sits on the board of directors of Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

Kelley Robinson, Midwestern States Field Coordinator, is a true product of the Midwest. After spending her formative years in the great city of Chicago, she attended the University of Missouri-Columbia. Kelley has been organizing and pursuing social justice initiatives throughout her career, with special attention to reproductive justice. Kelley has also organized for political campaigns including President Obama’s campaign in Missouri and Jim Martin’s run for senate in Georgia. From there, Kelley paired her knowledge of the legislative process with a desire to engage in critical analysis as a research assistant at her alma mater in the area of disaster studies focusing on the recovery process amidst the diaspora of victims/survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Following her research, she began work with the Corporation for National and Community Service on an initiative dedicated to empowering Americans to supplement government efforts in bringing about economic recovery through community service. Most recently Kelley worked as a regional organizer for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, working to build grassroots power and attain legislative victories around reproductive justice in Greater Iowa and Nebraska.

Jos Truitt, Western States Field Associate, previously worked with Choice USA as an intern, consultant and Choice Words blogger. She is a pro-choice clinic escort in Washington, DC and has worked for the National Abortion Federation hotline. Jos is a contributor at Feministing.com and a graduate of Hampshire College, where she was involved in immigrants' rights, racial justice, queer liberation and feminist organizing and was the Student Conference Coordinator for the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program's annual conference "From Abortion Rights to Social Justice: Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom." Jos is passionate about raising the voices of people in the margins, highlighting the intersectional nature of identity, and creating space in social justice movements for traditionally excluded voices to be moved to the center. She is also a printmaker who produces colorful abstract images about her gender identity. Jos enjoys riding her bike downhill, makeup, bread baking and making lots of pizza for her friends.