2025 Reproductive Justice Summit
Workshop Leaders
Gaylon B. Alcaraz
PhD
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. 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 to preserve affordable housing on the North Side of Chicago.
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.
As the current Executive Director of Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights (GRR!), she works across the country to lift the voices of Grandmothers, GrandOthers and Elders in the Reproductive Justice movement.
Nessa Bolen
MSW, LSW
Nessa Bolen (they/them) is a Trauma Therapist at RACES working within the realm of Sexual Violence. Nessa has dedicated the three years since receiving their master's at UIUC to understanding the complexities of trauma. Their passions are working on and enhancing not only interpersonal skills, but connections with and accessing community resources.
Radia DeLuna
MA, LPC
Radia DeLuna, M.A., LPC (she/her) is a 2nd-year doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in the Counseling Psychology program. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in Latinx Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, Radia served as the National Network of Arab American Communities’ Transformative Leaders Fellow at Arab American Family Services. Radia obtained her master’s degree in counseling psychology with a focus in Latinx Mental Health from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. While pursuing her graduate degree, Radia worked as a Counselor and Advocate at a domestic violence shelter in Chicago and later as a Counseling Intern at Dominican University’s Wellness Center. Since graduating with her master’s, she has worked as a behavioral health clinician at Planned Parenthood of Illinois, providing mental health care to individuals seeking gender-affirming care and reproductive health services. She is currently a doctoral practicum therapist at Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES), where she provides trauma-informed and culturally competent counseling and assessment services to students with disabilities, and co-created and co-facilitates a Chronic Illness Support Group for students at DRES managing chronic illnesses. Radia worked in the IC-RACE Lab, mentored by Dr. Hector Adames and Dra. Nayeli Chavez-Dueñas, where she honed her research interests, focusing on healing from the wounds of oppression, reproductive justice, and healing for queer and trans communities of color. Currently, she is working under the direction of Dr. Helen Neville in the Liberation Lab where she continues to foster and develop her research interests in radical healing from racism, and working toward liberation and reproductive justice. She is also working with Dr. Tuyet-Mai Hoang in the Dismantling Racism and Inequities Lab, where they work with community partners to research comprehensive reproductive healthcare for marginalized communities.
Abbi Littell
Abbi Littell is the Violence Prevention Education Coordinator at Rape, Advocacy, Counseling & Education Services. Originally from Ashland, AL, her passion for violence prevention began at Auburn University, where she later became the school's first Healthy Relationships Coordinator. When she's not teaching in schools about body safety, consent, and healthy relationships, she’s at home lounging with her dog, Phoebe, playing video games, writing, or reading books people have tried to ban.
Jeannie Ludlow
PhD
Jeannie Ludlow, Ph.D., is Professor of English and director of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Eastern Illinois University where she teaches feminist and queer theories, reproductive justice, and American literatures by women and BIPOC authors. In gratitude to everyone who helped her have a positive, healing, and legal abortion experience, Jeannie has worked as an abortion patient advocate and peer counselor at multiple clinics since 1996. Jeannie’s scholarship applies what she’s learned in clinics to literary, artistic, and popular culture expressions of abortion and abortion stigmatization. She is also on the Board of the Abortion Conversation Projects, a national organization that promotes and supports open, honest, and sometimes difficult conversations about abortion and reproductive justice.
Rachael McKinney
Rachael is a passionate birth and postpartum Doula with 12 years of experience in supporting families. In addition to her work as a Doula, she is also a Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) and teaches childbirth education classes. Rachael entered the birth advocacy field because she recognized the critical need for comprehensive support for new parents, particularly in navigating birth and early parenting. Currently, she serves as a home visitor in Champaign County, where she works to connect families with vital resources and foster positive parent-child relationships. Outside of her professional life, Rachael enjoys traveling, hiking, and relaxing at home with a good TV show.
Isis Rose
MA, CLC
Isis Rose is a student midwife, doula, childbirth educator, lactation counselor, and maternal health advocate. Isis discovered her passion for birth work as a graduate researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign while she was pursuing her PhD. Isis left academia to become a birth professional in 2019 after receiving her masters in sociocultural anthropology and graduate minor in gender and women's studies. After giving birth to her first child at home in 2018, Isis became an advocate for community midwifery and home birth. As a birth worker, Isis has supported families and attended over 90 births in homes, hospitals, and at the Birth Center of Bloomington Normal. Isis is now in her third year of clinical and didactic training at Commonsense Childbirth School of Midwifery and is expected to graduate in July 2025. In 2022, Isis co-founded BIPOC for Better Birth (BBB) to raise awareness about racial disparities in maternal and infant health. Isis also serves on the steering committee of Urbana-Champaign Reproductive Justice (UCRJ). In her spare time, Isis loves reading books to her two young children, doing yoga and Body Combat at the YMCA, and singing karaoke.
Taysha Ryan
MSN, APRN-FPA, FNP-C
Taysha Ryan MSN, APRN-FPA, FNP-C (She/Her), is a dedicated Nurse Practitioner and the Associate Medical Director at Elliott Counseling Group in Mattoon, Illinois, as well as the Urbana location. She earned her nursing degree from Lakeview College of Nursing in 2007. Following nursing school Taysha worked as a NICU nurse, followed by a Labor and Delivery and Pediatrics Nurse before returning to school to obtain her Master's in Nursing from Chamberlain School of Nursing in 2019.
After completing her MSN, she began her career as a Nurse Practitioner at Planned Parenthood of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois. As a Nurse Practitioner at Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Taysha provided comprehensive reproductive and sexual health services to a diverse patient population. Her responsibilities included: Contraceptive Counseling, STI testing/treatment, Abortion Care, Preventative Health Screenings, PrEP, and Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy. Throughout her tenure, she was committed to delivering patient-centered care, emphasizing education, informed consent, and respect for each individual's autonomy. She ensured that all patients received high-quality, compassionate care in alignment with Planned Parenthood's mission.
In August 2022, Taysha started with Elliott Counseling Group where she oversees the medical department as well as provides direct patient care. She has an extensive background in treating conditions such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, and other behavioral health needs. Taysha also spear-headed Elliott Counseling Group offering Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy by starting the Gender Affirming Care Program, as well as the Sexual Health and Wellness Program at Elliott Counseling Group, where she continues to provide a safe, respectful space for all clients and values the bonds she forms with all patients she encounters.