NIRH’s 2021 Champions of Choice event was our first online event, and we thank everyone who attended to make the evening a great success!
To see the full 2021 program, click here.
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2021 EVENT: VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
NIRH President Andrea Miller
Rep. Ayanna Pressley
2021 CHAMPIONS OF CHOICE HOSTS

Aisha C. Mills
Emcee
Aisha Mills is a seasoned political strategist and social impact advisor with twenty-years of experience working to ensure that our democracy is responsive to, reflective of, and led by the diverse communities that are the fabric of our nation. A nationally respected voice on Democratic politics, she is a political commentator on MSNBC and CNN, and is the author of dozens of policy reports and political and cultural analyses published in a range of media outlets. Aisha is also a member of NIRH’s Action Fund Board.

Andrea Miller
President, NIRH and NIRH Action Fund
Andrea Miller is the President of the National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH) and its Action Fund, which build power at the state and local level to change public policy, galvanize public support, and normalize women’s decisions about abortion and contraception. A nationally recognized expert in reproductive rights and women’s health, Andrea has served for more than two decades in the leadership of and as a consultant to a host of non-profit, advocacy, and philanthropic organizations. Andrea’s leadership in reproductive health and rights stretches back to helping to found the Center for Reproductive Rights. She started her professional career at the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. Andrea has a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Columbia College, Columbia University. She is a native of Minnesota.
2021 CHAMPIONS OF CHOICE HONOREES

PURPOSE Honoree
Marshall Weinberg

POWER Honoree
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley

PROGRESS Honoree
Health Equity Solutions, accepted by Tekisha Dwan Everette, Ph.D
Tekisha Dwan Everette, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of Health Equity Solutions, a non-profit organization with a mission to promote policies, programs, and practices that result in equitable health care access, delivery, and outcomes for all people in Connecticut. Since 2014, our approach to this work centers the lived experience and voices of racial and ethnic minoritized people and communities in Connecticut. This includes a focus on sexual reproductive health equity, specifically seeking solutions to maternal mortality and comprehensive reproductive care for Black birthing persons in CT. Dr. Tekisha Dwan Everette’s passion for social justice was fueled by her personal experiences and influences as a child, which gave Everette first-hand knowledge of the importance of health and health care access. Everette has built a successful career in public policy, particularly health care policy, and advocacy in the non-profit, state, and private sectors.
2021 HONORARY CHAIRS

Amy Brenneman
Actress, Writer, Producer, Activist

Kate Walsh
Actress, Entrepreneur, Activist
Kate Walsh remains one of the busiest actresses in the industry. With more than two decades of experience, she most recently she appeared in off-Broadway play “If I Forget,” for which she was nominated for a number of awards. Onscreen, Walsh most recently starred in Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why” and “The Umbrella Academy.” Walsh is also widely known for her starring role as Dr. Addison Montgomery on “Private Practice” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” Aside from acting, Walsh has traveled the world with Operation Smile, and has been a strong voice for a variety of issues she cares about, from the fight for women’s rights and reproductive freedom to ocean and marine life conservation.

Dawn Porter
Filmmaker, Producer, Advocate
Dawn Porter is an award-winning filmmaker, producer, and mental health/social justice advocate, and a leader in the art of storytelling, directing and producing critically acclaimed projects. Porter discovered her passion for filmmaking following her time as an attorney. Her 2016 film “Trapped,” which explores laws regulating abortion clinics in the South, won the Special Jury Social-Impact Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and a Peabody Award (to name a few). Porter is a former professor and Head of the Documentary Program at the prestigious UC Berkeley School of Journalism, and currently resides in Massachusetts with her husband and two children, Eli and Will.

Nancy Silverman
Philanthropist

Margaret Munzer Loeb
Filmmaker and Philanthropist
Margaret Munzer Loeb’s commitment as a leading philanthropist and passionate advocate for women’s reproductive freedom spans more than twenty years. She served on the boards of the National Institute for Reproductive Health until 2015 and the Center for Reproductive Rights until 2013. She currently serves on the boards of PEN America, Prep for Prep and Ethical Culture Fieldston School and the President’s Advisory Council on the Arts at Brown University, her undergraduate alma mater. Loeb began her career in commercial film production and recently returned to film, founding and managing MML Productions, for which she is currently executive producing and directing a documentary feature film. She earned a Master’s degree from the New York University Silver School of Social Work.

Cindi Leive
Journalist and Media Leader

Erika Alexander
Actress and Activist

Lola C. West
Financial Advisor and Change-maker
2021 ENTERTAINMENT:
Private Practice Table Read

Kate Walsh
Actress, Entrepreneur, Activist
Kate Walsh remains one of the busiest actresses in the industry. With more than two decades of experience, she most recently she appeared in off-Broadway play “If I Forget,” for which she was nominated for a number of awards. Onscreen, Walsh most recently starred in Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why” and “The Umbrella Academy.” Walsh is also widely known for her starring role as Dr. Addison Montgomery on “Private Practice” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” Aside from acting, Walsh has traveled the world with Operation Smile, and has been a strong voice for a variety of issues she cares about, from the fight for women’s rights and reproductive freedom to ocean and marine life conservation.

Amy Brenneman
Actress, Writer, Producer, Activist

Zainab Jah
Actress

Alysia Reiner
Actress and Producer

David Alan Basche
Actor and Producer
You’ve also seen him in TV shows like “Lipstick Jungle,” “The Starter Wife,” “Bull,” “Bluff City Law,” “NCIS: New Orleans,” “Elementary,” “Person of Interest,” “CSI: Miami” (he was their very first villain!), “Blue Bloods,” “Chicago PD,” “Blindspot” and many more. He’s also somewhat notorious for doing “the crab” on the floor for Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin in “30 Rock.”
In films, David called the title fight with Hugh Jackman and a 12 foot robot, chased Matt Damon all over New York City, stole Tom Cruise’s wife, flirted with Julia Roberts, married and divorced Debra Messing, and portrayed passenger Todd Beamer (famous for his last words of “let’s roll”) in Universal’s Oscar winning film “United 93.”
You can now see David in the film “EGG,” a comedy he made with his wife, actress Alysia Reiner. It’s available on iTunes, Amazon, Hulu, etc – they produced it together and starred in it together, and somehow despite that they stayed married.

Cait Cortelyou
Actress, Producer, and Activist
SPOKEN WORD POET

Ayanna Albertson
Writer and Spoken Word Poet
2021 EVENT SPONSORS
As of 4/29/21
Ruby
Margaret Munzer Loeb · Nancy Silverman
Trailblazer
Elyse and Lawrence B. Benenson · Bob Fertik and Antonia Stolper · Audrey and Martin D. Gruss · Audrey and Jeff Spiegel · Sharon Weinberg
Illuminary
Laurie Campbell · Cynthia Green Colin and Patricia Green · Jill Lafer · Lara Marcon · Christine C. Quinn
Visionary
Jill Braufman and Daniel Nir · Caroline Hirsch · Abigail and David Schumer · Dolores M. Smith · Mila Tuttle
Defender
Anonymous Donor · Kathleen McHugh · Pandia Health
Protector
Donna L. Bascom · Debra Cooper · Sophia Danenberg · Antoinette Danvers · Roxanne Donovan · Dana Golding · Daniel Gonzales · Sarah Kovner · Raquel and Lear Levin · Amy and Steve Lipin · Linda and Stuart Nelson · Fiona and Eric Rudin · Leonard and Allison Stern · Marcie Stuchin · Diane and Craig Solomon · Maria Vullo · Susi Wunsch
BOARDS OF DIRECTORS
National Institute for Reproductive Health
Sharon Weinberg, Chair
Raquel Levin, Treasurer
Dolores Smith, Secretary
Maria Vullo, ex officio
Jill Braufman
Antoinette Danvers, MD
Kathleen McHugh
Laura Scheuer
Abigail Schumer
Nancy Silverman, emerita
Audrey Spiegel
National Institute for Reproductive Health Action Fund
Maria Vullo, Chair
Shirley Gordon, Treasurer
Bob Fertik, Secretary
Sharon Weinberg, ex officio
Donna L. Bascom
Kimberly Chirls
Debra Cooper
Sophia Danenberg
Daniel Gonzales
Robert Jaffe
Sarah Kovner
Gabriela D. Lemus, Ph.D.
Raquel Levin
Aisha C. Mills
Nathalie Molina Niño
Christine C. Quinn