Join a phenomenal triumvirate of reproductive justice subject-matter experts and practitioners as they guide us through a conversation on what equity-minded care looks like in Latina and Latinx communities.
The program takes place via Zoom Wednesday, March 9 from 6:30 - 7:30p.m. ET. Registrants will receive the Zoom invitation in their confirmation email.
William & Mary Professor Claire McKinney teaches and publishes on topics including the intersections of gender, race and disability, abortion rights and women’s disease activism. Lupe Rodríguez is the executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (Latina Institute). Her work focuses on the power of communities that are most impacted by injustice, mobilizing people who are involved in grassroots activism, and the future of organizing. Lourdes Santaballa ’90 is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, doula and founder of Alimentación Segura InfantiI, an infant and young child feeding program focused on increasing breastfeeding, leadership and training in marginalized communities in Puerto Rico. Her work encompasses issues like reproductive rights, the right to dignified health care and bodily autonomy.
Topics such as community care, colonialism, colorism and class are just snippets of what this program will include. The dynamic panel encourages the audience to engage in this dialogue throughout the program!
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W&M Latinx Reproductive Justice Program
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Speaker Biographies
William & Mary Professor Claire McKinney’s research focuses on the intersections of gender, politics and reproduction in the American context. She is completing a book manuscript that argues that mainstream abortion politics in the United States limit the ways abortion is understood, to the detriment of thinking more critically about gender and citizenship. Her work involves a rereading of the long history of abortion politics (1850-2018) to argue that the role of medicine and medical expertise has been undervalued in how we come to understand the politics and morality of abortion. Through a reading of medical texts, Supreme Court cases, social movement archives and contemporary law and politics, she demonstrates how race, gender and disability are produced through both anti-abortion and abortion access reform politics. More broadly, Claire is interested in how the meaning of health has come to reorient political identity and citizenship. Her work has appeared in Disability Studies Quarterly and Politics, Groups, and Identities .
Guadalupe “Lupe” M. Rodríguez is a scientist with an activist heart dedicated to seeing all people live in full salud, dignidad y justicia. She currently serves as the executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (Latina Institute). Born in Mexico City, Lupe immigrated with her family to San Jose, California, seeking medical care for her brother. A natural-born leader, she knew early on she had a passion for organizing and was gifted with a strong voice and desire to speak up for what was right. Driven to work on health issues like the congenital disorder that impacted her brother, Lupe studied neurobiology. A self-proclaimed disruptor with a passion for change, Lupe altered course from a career in science to focus on social justice policy work in Mexico, Peru and California. Before joining the Latina Institute, Lupe served as director of public affairs and later vice president of public affairs at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte. Lupe graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in neurobiology. She serves on the Community Advisory Board for the Center for Clinical Research at Stanford Medical School and has served on several other boards, including the Center for American Progress’ Reproductive Justice Advisory Board, California Family Health Council Board of Directors, as chair of the Commission on the Status of Women in Santa Clara County and treasurer of the Board of Directors for California Latinas for Reproductive Justice. She is an avid runner and resides in the Bay Area with her partner.
Lourdes Santaballa ’90 is a community activist and organizer, with a background in domestic violence, affordable housing and economic equity advocacy. In addition to her undergraduate degree, Lourdes has a Master of Science in clinical nutrition and integrative health. Lourdes is a leader in equity advocacy and infant and young child feeding in emergencies (IYCF-E). She is an experienced International Board Certified Lactation Consultant with a demonstrated history of working in community-created and -based public health and nonprofit sectors. In 2017, following Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Lourdes founded Alimentación Segura Infantil or ASI, an infant and young child feeding program focused on increasing breastfeeding, leadership and training in marginalized communities in Puerto Rico. Lourdes is an avid podcaster, and participants are encouraged to check out Lourdes’ podcast, Teta y Pecho: Lactancia Interseccional, before and after the program! https://problematicamedia.libsyn.com