What have you been up to since graduating from Bowdoin?
I knew that I wanted to work on women’s health issues when I graduated. I spent about four years at an organization in DC focused on maternal and child health, working on communications, events, and membership. Through that work, I learned a lot about the federal appropriations process, public health, and programs like Medicaid and the Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant. Wanting to delve deeper into the legal and policy side of the work, I decided to go to law school. After those three years, I landed a legal fellowship at the National Women’s Law Center (back in DC) on the Reproductive Rights and Health team. I stayed on that team for over twelve years, using the law to protect and expand access to contraception. About a year ago, I made the leap to philanthropy, working on similar issues but from a different angle. At the same time as these exciting career developments, I met and married my spouse, and we had two kids. When I’m not working, I’m enjoying nature, cheering on my kids’ baseball teams, trying new recipes, exercising, or listening to celebrity memoir audiobooks.
Why Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies? (What drew you to the major/minor and how has it shaped your path?)
Initially, I didn’t think I’d take a GSWS class. I went to an all-girls high school and felt like my history and English classes had already addressed the question of “what were women’s roles?” When I registered for classes in my first semester at Bowdoin, I needed to fill one last spot, and Women’s Studies 101 was what fit in my schedule. Once I took that class, I realized GSWS courses were so much more than I had assumed. GSWS was a true liberal arts degree. I explored all sorts of subjects across the College, including economics, dance, film, religion, Russian, and sociology, all connected by a common thread and examined through the academic lens of feminist theory. That lens has never gone away. It shapes how I think about the law, the community I live in, the world, and how I show up with my friends and family.