GRR! Exists to
amplify elder voices
in reproductive justice

Vision & Purpose

We are building an intergenerational legacy of freedom for all. We unite grandmothers, grand-others, and elders to advance reproductive health, rights, and justice when society often renders them invisible.

Following the bold example of Black women founders of the Reproductive Justice movement, we fight for justice beyond legality to achieve true equality.

Our work honors elders' historical perspectives—many remember the dangerous reality of illegal abortions. By archiving pre-Roe stories, we preserve crucial history while challenging today's growing wave of reproductive misinformation.

Our Values

Truth-Telling

In a landscape filled with misinformation, we stand as beacons of honest, evidence-based information about reproductive health. We honor complex realities of reproductive experiences. Through raw, authentic stories, we break the silence of stigma and create space for genuine understanding.

Intergenerational Justice

Our cross-generational approach ensures hard-won wisdom isn't lost while embracing new strategies that strengthen our movement. Together, we address the root causes of reproductive injustice and build systems where all people can exercise their reproductive choices with dignity.

Autonomous Collaboration

Local wisdom meets collective power. We respect each community's unique challenges while recognizing our strength comes from coordination across state lines. Our model balances independence with unity, creating a resilient network that responds to local needs while building national impact.

Our Founder

Judy Kahrl (1941-2025)

Judy Kahrl's vision for GRR! was sparked by a transformative trip to Africa in 2013, where she witnessed profound respect for community elders. She returned to Maine determined to create space for elder voices in reproductive rights.

As her perspective evolved from reproductive rights to reproductive justice, Judy took bold steps, bringing a group of white women to Sister Song's conference to learn from Black women leaders in the field. She challenged her own family legacy in reproductive health work, questioning issues of eugenics and accountability.

What began as friends gathered around her kitchen table grew into a structured organization receiving 501(c)(3) status in 2020. Before her passing in January 2025, Judy ensured GRR! would move forward with her vision of inclusive reproductive justice, intentionally led by diverse voices committed to reproductive freedom for all generations.

Leadership Team

  • Executive Director

    Gaylon B. Alcaraz has a long history in the Midwest as an activist, organizer and champion of human rights. As the past Executive Director of the Chicago Abortion Fund, she worked within the reproductive justice/rights/health movement to advocate for low-income women seeking to control their reproductive freedom. Among the many social justice accomplishments credited, she served as a founding board member of Affinity Community Services, a social justice organization that advocates for the rights of black lesbian and bisexual women in the Chicago land area. During her board tenure at Affinity, she assumed increased leadership roles, across all areas of the organization's functions including the role of Vice-President. She is also a past board member of the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health and the Midwest Access Project.

    For more than twenty-five years, she has worked and organized on behalf of sexual minority women, anti-violence, gender equity, health prevention, reproductive justice, as well as race and culture issues. Gaylon has consistently applied her knowledge in practice towards quality improvement, increased access, and by challenging frameworks that do not allow for the exploration of diversity across multiple dimensions when working with, and on behalf of diverse constituencies. In 1995, as a trained organizer through Metropolitan Tenant's Organization, she facilitated the affordable housing preservation at Ogden Corners, located in Lincoln Park. Working with the property management company and resident's council, she assisted in securing a million-dollar rehab loan from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

    Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she was awarded both her Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees from DePaul University and her Doctoral degree in Community Psychology from National Louis University. She has received awards both locally and nationally from Sister Song Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, Northwest Suburban NOW, Choice USA, Chicago Foundation for Women and Chicago NOW for her work in the reproductive rights/health and justice field. Gaylon was also highlighted in the Chicago Woman Magazine as one of "The Fierce 50" and in The Chicago Reader as "The Activist" in the "People" edition. She was also inducted into Chicago's Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame for her work on Reproductive Justice issues.

  • Director of Programs and Outreach

    Cait Vaughan (she/her) works alongside her elders as the Director of Programs & Outreach for GRR!. Cait is also a community-based doula and childbirth educator. She sits on Maine's Maternal, Fetal, and Infant Mortality Review Committee as a community doula; volunteers as an abortion doula and case manager with the Reproductive Freedom Fund of New Hampshire; and, she volunteered as a peer counselor for years on the national All Options Talkline, providing compassionate and nonjudgmental support and referrals around all pregnancy, parenting, and adoption experiences. At home, she tends to a jungle of houseplants and serves at the leisure of a spoiled special needs cat named Teddy.

  • Development Director

    Cristy is an experienced development professional, with 17 years of nonprofit experience. Cristy holds an MSSW with a concentration in International Social Welfare and Social Enterprise Administration from Columbia University and an MPH from New York University's Global Public Health School with a concentration in International Community Health and Infectious Disease Prevention.

    Cristy is passionate about supporting underserved communities around the globe and seeking out organizations that provide services and programs to end institutional inequities and social injustices. As a generalist, she has extensive experience in all areas of development and marketing and thrives on building connections across stakeholders.

  • Communications Consultant

    Featured in The Guardian, Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Reader, on HBO, WBEZ, WTTW, and on international television and radio, multidisciplinary artist Nikki Patin has been writing since she was 7. In 2014, Patin addressed the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland on behalf of Black women and girl survivors of sexual violence. Nikki Patin holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Southern Main. She is the Founder and Executive Producer of Surviving the Mic, an Elastic Arts Dark Matter Arts Resident, and the recipient of the 2024 Leadership Award from The Network. Patin's debut memoir, Working on Me, was recently released on Vine Leaves Press. Patin serves as a consultant for several non-profit organizations, including Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights and Chicago Freedom School.

  • Development Consultant

    Lucy Hull (she/her) is GRR! Resident Development Pro. She has been protesting against war and misogyny and on behalf of reproductive rights and a healthy environment since she was a teen. Her work building boats and houses in the '70s and '80s was satisfying, as was a year traveling by sailboat with her husband when their first child was born. Lucy was development director for a school/camp/environmental education center for 17 years in her home state of Maine. She has been part of GRR! from its earliest days, and has loved seeing its evolution from the activism of a small group of friends to a vibrant national organization. Working in community with others, and caring for the community around her is Lucy's joy. She and her husband of 40 years have two children and three grandchildren.

Board of Directors

Our board spans the country with members from Maine to California, protected states to restricted ones. This geographic diversity strengthens our understanding of varied reproductive health challenges while maintaining our focus on amplifying elder voices in the fight for reproductive justice.

  • Board Member

    Before retiring to Maine, Caroline lived in Massachusetts where she was involved in various businesses. When her children were very young, she was in the daycare business. After her children were older, Caroline became a general manager in the real estate and support services business in Boston. From there, she joined a residential real estate brokerage firm as a sales associate. Caroline spent the summers in Georgetown, Maine, and in 2004 she and her husband moved to Bath, Maine.

  • Board Chair

    Leah Coplon CNM, MPH is the Director of Clinical Operations for Abortion on Demand, a telehealth abortion service providing care in 23 states. Prior to her work at AOD, Leah served as the Program Director and an abortion provider at Maine Family Planning overseeing telehealth services and strategizing to find innovative ways to increase access to abortion, contraception, and gender affirming healthcare via telehealth. Leah has also participated in research and writing about the safety and efficacy of telehealth and sexual and reproductive healthcare. Leah has worked as an Assistant Professor of Nursing at the University of New England and has practiced full-scope midwifery and worked as a labor and delivery nurse. Leah received a BA in sociology/anthropology from Carleton College, a BSN from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Science and Certificate of Nurse-Midwifery from Jefferson, and a Master of Public Health from the University of New England.

  • Secretary

    Denise Mill Parker was born and raised in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. She graduated with a B.S. in Nursing from The Ohio State University. Later, she earned her MBA at The George Washington University in Washington DC.

    While working in various healthcare roles her entire career—from direct patient care to hospital and medical group administration—she became acutely aware of disparities in care and worked to alleviate some of the burdens experienced by the disenfranchised. Denise is married to a retired neuroradiologist and has four adult sons, three daughters-in-law, and two grandchildren.

  • Board Member

    Sakinah Ahad Shannon is a trailblazer in women's health and reproductive rights. One of the original members of Jane Collective Abortion Services, Sakinah's work and tireless contributions led her to provide much-needed care for women in a time when little light and hope were available.

    Continuing her crusade for the next thirty years both in the private sector and through her three women's health centers and offices on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, Sakinah worked tirelessly to ensure women of color had the right of choice. For her outstanding work, she has received countless accolades and awards including honors from Chicago Abortion Fund and National Abortion Federation.

    Today, Sakinah is an Advocate and Voice for Women's Health and Reproductive Rights. Lending her expertise and presence to a new generation of women that have taken the torch and now march with the fire and dignity of yesterday as they forge on with the very real fight of today.

  • Vickie R. Sides currently serves as Director of Education and Outreach in the Center for Awareness, Resolution, Education and Support (CARES) at the University of Chicago’s Equal Opportunity Programs. 

    Vickie has spent the last 20+ years working in movements to eliminate power-based violence and oppression and shares a deep commitment to justice movements, including reproductive justice and using restorative practices to address inequity.

    As an educator, she is committed to educating for social justice and has been an Adjunct instructor at National-Louis University in the Human Services and Counseling program for the past 15 years.  

     

    Vickie earned her Masters degree in Social and Cultural Studies in Education and Human Development from DePaul University in Chicago, IL.  

    Vickie lives in the Chicagoland area with her spouse. 

  • Vice Chair

    Sarah Thompson is a retired school librarian who lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She has been married to Brian for 42 years. They have one son, Andrew, who also lives in Fayetteville, with his wife, Chelsea, and their two golden retrievers. Since retiring in 2012, Sarah has dedicated her time and energy to ensuring that access to abortion remains legal in the United States. She served as president of the Planned Parenthood Voters of Arkansas board, is a member of the Planned Parenthood Great Plains Community Outreach committee, has lobbied for reproductive rights at the Arkansas State Capitol, and participated in rallies and events with the Arkansas Coalition for Reproductive Justice and other organizations. As a genealogy fanatic, Sarah spends much of her leisure time researching ancestors and creating a huge family tree on Ancestry.

  • Treasurer

    Tori D. Willis was born and raised in Boston, MA. A proud member of the Sigma Beta Delta International Honor Society, she graduated with a Master of Management from Cambridge College. She later earned a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University.

    Tori is a leader with over 20 years of experience in operations and administration, dedicated to championing causes that advance economic, social, and political justice. As the Director of Operations & Culture at the Initiative for Energy Justice (IEJ), she is a part of IEJ's leadership team leading all the Initiative for Energy Justice's internal operations, including administration, systems, technology, grants management and finance. She is also responsible for leading efforts to shape and nurture IEJ's culture and morale to foster an equitable, anti-oppressive, joyful, and effective work culture.

    Prior to joining the team at IEJ, Tori was Senior Administrative Manager at Pathfinder International, an NGO that focuses on sexual and reproductive health and rights. There she provided strategic leadership in administration, oversaw the global travel program and policy, and served as the leader of the US Racial Justice Leadership Team. As an adviser and thought partner to Pathfinder's leadership team, she contributed to the organization's commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

    As a native Bostonian, Tori is an avid fan of all things Boston sports! She finds joy in spending time with family, at church, and traveling the world.

GRR! Advisory Board

  • Earlene Avalón

  • Sandra L. Caron

  • Margaret Crites | Life-long Advocate

  • Pamelyn Richardson | Ret., Journalist and Photographer

  • Dan Pellegrom | Ret. CEO, Pathfinder International

  • Ellen F. Golden | Ret., Coastal Enterprises, Inc.