Mission
Ohio Women’s Alliance is a power-building Reproductive Justice organization providing programming, resources, and education for women, femmes, gender-expansive folks, and youth throughout Ohio. Rooted in the foundations of Reproductive Justice, our mission is to transform Ohio into a state where all people can truly thrive through access to safe communities, equitable education, holistic health care and wellness, inclusive and representative democracy, and economic prosperity.
Vision
Our vision is an Ohio where all people can truly thrive—an Ohio that takes a stake in all women and gender-expansive folks having the power to make their own decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities.
Our Values
We developed our Pillars of Prosperity—our issue platform—directly with our membership.
In the summer of 2019, we conducted a statewide listening tour to 1) better understand how an alliance like the Ohio Women's Alliance could support emerging and existing leaders and 2) identify issues these leaders are organizing around in their communities.
We held eight focus groups in seven different cities/towns: Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus (2), Athens, Cleveland, Akron, and Toledo. These cities were selected for having a non-white population of 25% or more, with the exception of Athens, which was chosen for having a very active activist base. Focus group invitees included community organizers, local grassroots leaders, and community volunteers identified by our co-founders, Rhiannon Childs and Erin Scott. Between Rhiannon and Erin’s collective networks and the suggestions of peers, the pool of focus group attendees was diverse, engaged, and eager to participate.
Over 50 women participated in the focus groups, and around 10 individual leaders were interviewed one-on-one. Attendees were asked to review a two-page proposal on the purpose of the Ohio Women's Alliance and informally discuss whether or not there is a need for a statewide coalition of women and gender nonconforming leaders. The response was overwhelmingly received positively for an organization that prioritizes relationships, brave spaces, restorative healing practices, resources for training, and small-dollar financial support opportunities. We also reviewed timely and essential issues leaders were working on, and ultimately followed up with a list of issues that were revised and re-sent twice to focus group participants.
After unveiling our Pillars of Prosperity to the broader community, we have received an enormous amount of support for our inclusive, forward-thinking platform that creates healthier communities, a more just democracy, and protects women and gender-expansive folx.
Our Pillars of Prosperity
we believe in healthcare for all, which includes:
Access to full reproductive care including safe and legal abortion
Improving maternal and infant care, specifically addressing the disproportionate Black infant and maternal mortality rates
Recovery services for folx struggling with an addiction disorder
Recovery services for survivors of sexual assault and human trafficking
Access to affordable prescriptions
Hormone therapy and gender affirmation surgeries for LGBTQIA+ folks
Culturally competent healthcare including mental health services that are culturally competent and anti-racist
Addressing biases against people with visible and invisible disabilities
Expanding the Affordable Care Act
Introducing a single-payer healthcare system
we believe in decarceration and rehabilitation, which includes:
Rehabilitation, restoration, and re-entry programs
Dismantling school-to-prison and school-to-human-trafficking pipelines
Decriminalizing sex work
Abolishing cash bail
Abolishing US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Justice for disproportionately incarcerated Black and brown folx
Abolishing the death penalty
Acknowledging racialized criminalization within drug classification
Abolishing privatized prisons
we believe in strong, equitable education, which includes:
Equitable public school funding
Universal Pre-K
Removing police officers from all schools
Diverse and representative teaching and administrative staff in schools
Well-resourced teachers
Policies protecting LGBTQIA+ students
Dismantling redlining practices and addressing their impact
Freedom to determine educational pathways regardless of income or zip code
we believe in economic prosperity for all, which includes:
Community economic development centered in the needs of the residents
Support for community care and mutual aid networks
Fair and livable wages for all
Resources and employment for folx with disabilities
Protecting and expanding social safety net programs
Protection from employer discrimination due to race, gender identity, ability, age, religion, sexual identity, etc.
we believe in humanitarian crisis support, which includes:
Support for immigrants and refugees, including ending inhumane detainment
Fighting climate change, which contributes to global humanitarian crises
Holding our elected officials accountable to take action during a humanitarian crisis
Access to free PPE
Access to rapid, accurate COVID-19 testing
Black Lives Matter
Prosecuting and convicting police officers who commit state-sanctioned violence against Black people
Protecting AAPI communities from xenophobia and violence, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic
The right to self-determination for all, including citizenship if desired
Protecting and expanding Indigenous lands, communities, culture, acknowledging and repairing the harms of colonization
we believe in safe communities, which includes:
Demilitarization of police forces
Addressing white nationalism and domestic terrorism through common-sense gun laws
Addressing a culture of toxic masculinity and misogynoir
Policies and laws protecting LGBTQIA+ folx from violence and harassment
Support for family and children impacted by the state-sanctioned drug epidemic
Divestment in police, investment in community resources independent of the state
Defending the rights of protesters, especially Black community organizers and activists
All people should have access to safe, affordable housing options and the right to determine where and how they live
All Ohioans have multiple ways to access healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food within their own communities
Ensuring the supply chains that feed Ohioans and provide energy are modern, efficient, and resilient.
we believe in an inclusive, representative democracy, which includes:
Expanding and protecting voter rights, especially in Black communities
Campaign finance reform, including spending and in-kind donation limits
Dismantling gerrymandering through a fair and transparent redistricting process
Investing in communities of color year-round, not just during the election season
Creating sustainable and inclusive pipelines to leadership, including but not limited to running for office
Empowering directly impacted folx to have a voice and a stake in policy and legislation within their community
Advocating for automatic and same-day voter registration
Improving the vote-by-mail system accessibility and accuracy
Meet Our Team
Executive Director & Co-Founder | she/her
Director of Campaigns & Policy | she/her
Communications & Data Manager
Deputy Director | she/her
Member Assistance Program Manager | she/her
Senior Director of Finance & Operations | she/her
Myia Rucker, MSW, LSW
Director of Membership | she/her
Manager of Social Impact | she/her
Senior Director of Communications | she/her
Ready to join us?
Our Action Fund
Ohio Women’s Alliance has always been led by Black women and influenced by the leadership of women of color and gender nonconforming folx. Too often the issues that impact Black women, women of color, LGBTQ+, and gender nonconforming folx are not referred to as reproductive justice issues. But all of our issues are reproductive justice issues — our health, food security, and our needs. We are reclaiming reproductive justice as a framework from which we have always been organizing and leading.
The realm of reproductive feminism has historically been limited to abortion rights. Ohio Women’s Alliance centers the full experience of women and gender nonconforming folx of color, including abortion access, maternal healthcare, criminal justice, economic justice, education, and wellness.