Staff & Board
Staff
Eveline Shen, MPH, Executive Director
eveline@reproductivejustice.org
Eveline has led ACRJ since 1999. Under her leadership, ACRJ is recognized for its innovative leadership in the Reproductive Justice Movement in working with grassroots communities, providing thought leadership, developing effective tools and resources for evaluation, training and documentation, and organizing for long term systemic change. Eveline serves on the board of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project and Movement Strategy Center. She has also served as Principal Investigator for two National Institutes of Health grants that explore the intersection between environmental justice and reproductive justice. Eveline was recently named by Women’s E-news as one of the 21 leaders for the 21st Century. She is a 2009 Gerbode Fellow and holds a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley in Community Health Education.
Moira Bowman, EMERJ Movement Building Director
moira@reproductivejustice.org
Moira Bowman lives in Portland, Oregon – ACRJ’s first remote staff member! She joined ACRJ in November 2007, after playing a vital role in advancing our work as a member of the EMERJ Strategy Team. Moira has been active in the social justice movement for the last 20 years on issues of economic and racial justice, LGBTQ rights and gender justice. She brings extensive experience in movement building, organizing, political education, and technical assistance. As the Director of the Gender Justice Program at Western States Center, Moira worked to build regional capacity (in Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming) to counter the Right's agenda and to build progressive power for low-income families, communities of color and LGBTQ folks. Moira has a B.A. from Reed College.
Hillary Brooks, Finance and Operations Director
hillary@reproductivejustice.org
A former administrative director at Media Alliance, Hillary worked for over a decade as an accounting and Mac consultant to non-profits, small businesses, magazines and individuals. As a long-time activist for reproductive and civil rights, she did grassroots organizing with groups such as Bay Area Coalition for Our Reproductive Rights. She also put her politics into song, primarily in the jazz group Maroon, which she led while living in New York City, where she also curated and performed in the Jazz Against War concert series. Hillary holds a B.S. in communications research with a focus on images of women and people of color in the media and an M.F.A. in jazz performance. She started at ACRJ in January 2009.
Diana Ip, Communications and Development Director
diana@reproductivejustice.org
Diana is a 1.5 generation Chinese American who has over ten years of experience working with social justice and nonprofit organizations to communicate effectively and strategically. Formerly a Co-director of the SPIN Project and associate at i.e. communications, she’s committed to ensuring that marginalized people such as women of color, immigrants and low-wage workers get to speak for themselves. A former board member and consultant to ACRJ, Diana holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University, an M.F.A. from Mills College, and is a graduate of the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs. She grew up in Hong Kong, Brooklyn and Baltimore, and lives in Oakland.
Maria Nakae, MPH, Development Manager
maria@reproductivejustice.org
Maria joined ACRJ in June 2006 as a New Voices Fellow and Alliance Building Coordinator. She has worked in community-based research, outreach, and program development on a wide range of issues including reproductive health, domestic violence prevention, parenting and child development, and mental health. Maria's interest in reproductive justice stems from her work with community- and school-based programs to increase access to reproductive health services for youth in low-income immigrant communities and communities of color. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from New York University and a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley.
Dana Ginn Paredes, Organizing Director
dana@reproductivejustice.org
Dana Ginn Paredes has worked for social justice organizations for over 12 years as a field organizer, trainer, national program director and organizing director. Dana’s previous work to promote racial equity and healthy families within welfare policy led her to develop a strong interest in reproductive justice issues for women, youth and communities of color. She joined ACRJ in 2003, and in that time, has led research to advance comprehensive sex education policy for California public schools, has led electoral campaigns that advance reproductive justice, and has initiated and overseen the development of ACRJ’s current youth and worker organizing projects and climate change initiative. Dana is a 2008-09 fellow of the National APAWLI Signature Program of The Center for Asian Pacific American Women; a 2008 participant of the CLEAR Executive Training Program of Communications Leadership Institute; a 2007 fellow of the Women's Policy Institute; and serves on the steering committee for the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative. Dana holds a B.S. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley.
Yvonne Tran, Movement Building Manager
yvonne@reproductivejustice.org
Yvonne came to ACRJ in May of 2010. She provides leadership in ACRJ's national movement building initiative, EMERJ. Prior to ACRJ, Yvonne was a lead organizer with Californians for Justice (CFJ). At CFJ, she built extensive experience in student organizing and multi-generational organizing models. A native of East San Jose, Yvonne joined CFJ in the summer of 2001 when she was 15 years old. She holds a BA in Asian American Studies with a minor in Writing from UC Santa Barbara. Yvonne is an aficionado of Asian American literature, a fan of hiphopsoulfunk, and a graphic designer who also loves to travel and eat.
Amanda Wake, Youth Organizer
amanda@reproductivejustice.org
Amanda is yonsei, fourth generation Japanese American and a third generation community organizer. She graduated from UC Santa Cruz in American Studies where she was also an active student organizer and co-director of the Engaging Education Center. She previously worked as a social worker for a mentoring program for children with a parent in the prison system. Amanda loves being part of ACRJ where she can combine two of her passions: community organizing and youth programming. She believes doing work around reproductive justice is important to the empowerment of communities, and especially enjoys doing this work with the young women she works with in SAFIRE.
Board of Directors
Destiny Lopez, Treasurer
Destiny is a second generation Mexican American and joined the ACRJ board in 2009. She currently works as the Director of Latino Engagement at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Prior to joining Planned Parenthood, Destiny was the Executive Director of ACCESS/Women's Health Rights Coalition, an allied grassroots reproductive justice organization based in Oakland. Destiny has dedicated her career to developing policy advocacy and communications strategies that uplift the voices of women of color and has served in various capacities on staff or as a consultant to organizations including NARAL Pro-Choice New York, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH), Fenton Communications and Choice USA. She currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of NLIRH and holds a Masters in Public Administration from New York University.
Monica Plazola, Chair
Monica is an independent small business and nonprofit consultant and the Operations and Finance Director for Terra Linda Development, a real estate development services company. She has over a decade of experience in financial management, risk management, strategic development, administration, and human resources experience in both the private and nonprofit sectors. A longtime advocate for social justice, Monica serves on the board of several non-profit organizations and was formerly a staff member at ACRJ. She earned a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Psychology from Stanford University.
Lisa Russ, Secretary
Lisa has worked in the field of training, experiential education, and program development for over 15 years. After five years as an educator, trainer and manager in outdoor education, Lisa went to Global Exchange, where she founded and directed Exploring California. This program provided opportunities for young people to learn about issues related to immigration, trade and labor, and how they impact communities around the state. Since 1999, Lisa has worked with community-based organizations to strengthen their capacity, support young leaders, engage boards of directors, develop and implement strategic plans, design and implement effective leadership transitions, and provide training in program evaluation and planning. Lisa has served on several Advisory Boards and Boards of Directors, and has been involved in the founding of several programs and organizations.
Eveline Shen, MPH, President
See bio under Staff.
Bouapha Toommaly, Board Member
Bouapha was born in Laos, and came to the US in 1979 with her family as political refugees. At the age of 19, she began her career as an organizer with the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, helping to develop the program and foundation for the Laotian Organizing Project. Bouapha has since organized for progressive trade and immigration policy with the Rural Coalition, coordinated the youth portion of the Second National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, and served as Organizing Director for the Asian Pacific Islanders Voter Initiatives of National Voice. In 2004 she was asked to come to the Kerry-Edwards presidential campaign as the Minnesota State APIA State Field Director. Bouapha currently works as the Special Assistant for Boards and Commissions with the City of Oakland, Office of the Mayor.
