We worked with Pitt's Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion on The Intersections of Inequity, Justice, and Health: Reproductive Autonomy for All as part of the 2022 Diversity Forum. Meet our amazing panelists:
- Imani Barbarin is a disability rights and inclusion activist and speaker who uses her voice and social media platforms to create conversations engaging the disability community. Born with cerebral palsy, Imani often writes and uses her platform to speak from the perspective of a disabled black woman. In the last few years she has created over a dozen trending hashtags that allow disabled folk the opportunity to have their perspectives heard while forcing the world to take notice. #PatientsAreNotFaking, #ThingsDisabledPeopleKnow, #AbledsAreWeird and others each provide a window into disabled life while forming community.
Imani is from the Philadelphia area and holds a Masters in Global Communications from the American University of Paris, her published works include those in Forbes, Rewire, Healthline, BitchMedia and more. She runs the blog CrutchesAndSpice.com and a podcast of the same name. She currently serves as the Communications Director for a nonprofit in Pennsylvania. - Greer Donley is the John E. Murray Faculty Scholar and Associate Professor of Law at the University Pittsburgh Law School. She is a national expert on reproductive healthcare and the law, particularly abortion and contraception. Her recent research has explored the coming interjurisdictional abortion conflicts, the interconnectedness of pregnancy loss and abortion, the regulation of medication abortion, the right to abortion in the context of fetal anomaly, contraceptive equity in the Affordable Care Act, and the regulations surrounding the consumption of pharmaceuticals in pregnant and lactating people. Her scholarly works have been published or are forthcoming in the Columbia Law Review, Cornell Law Review, Vanderbilt Law Review, Minnesota Law Review, Boston College Law Review, Journal of Law & the Biosciences, among others. Her popular writing has been published in the New York Times, the Atlantic, Time, the Boston Globe, Slate, Politico, the Hill, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.” This one is more up-to-date than the one in the run of show too.
- Christian A'Xavier Lovehall (he/him/his) is a proud Black Trans man with Caribbean roots, from Philly known for his poetry, music and freedom fighting. He is owner of Renaissance Man Media Solutions, a freelance photographer and an unapologetic advocate for the most marginalized individuals and communities, including Black Trans individuals, people living with disAbilities, those who are undocumented and sex workers. He is the founder of the Philly Trans March, facilitator of the Trans Masculine Advocacy Network and Philly Branch lead for The Black Sex Workers Collective. In his role as a doula, affectionately known as Brotha Doula, he's trained other practitioners on Trans affirming care and has supported Trans, Non-binary and Queer families on their pregnancy, birthing and parenting journeys. In June 2019, he received a “Voices of Change” Award from New Voices Philadelphia, for his Reproductive Justice advocacy and birth work in the Trans community. Christian lives his life spreading a message of equity, self-determination and liberation “by any means necessary".
- LeeVetta Smith committed to education early after graduating from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and her MBA from University of Phoenix. Lee started working in community based services early in her career. Working within the community has proven to be mutually beneficial to Lee, adding to her life and allowing her to pour into them. Lee was introduced to the formal idea of Reproductive Justice fairly late in life, but has always been on the front line, fighting for bodily autonomy, and the right to care for self the way we see fit.
Today Lee can be found working as the Community Programs Director at New Voices for Reproductive Justice. She is still learning as a forever student, her team continues to teach and show her how Reproductive Justice is all encompassing and can be life changing if handled with respect.
Going forward, Lee looks forward to traveling more as she learns and earns her liberation. -
Dr. Mendez’s research, practice and instruction include health equity, reproductive justice and anti-oppression praxis as well as applications of Black Feminist Theory and Public Health Critical Race Praxis. She focuses on understanding and addressing racial and socioeconomic equity in pregnancy, birth and women’s health. Dr. Mendez has developed approaches to measure and understand how structural and social contexts (including structural racism and oppression) intersect to contribute to health, particularly the health of Black women and femmes. She also leads several projects focused on community health and policy interventions aimed to achieve racial health equity.
Dr. Mendez received her bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology from Spelman College in 2002. She received her MPH in maternal and child health in 2005 and her PhD in maternal and child health and epidemiology in 2009, both from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She completed her postdoctoral training as a Kellogg Health Scholar at the University of Pittsburgh. In her role at the University of Pittsburgh, she has served as former Interim Director for the Center for Health Equity and founder and director of the Health Justice Scholars and Maternal and Child Health Equity Scholars Programs.
Reproductive autonomy is the ability to make reproductive health decisions that are best for an individual or family in their unique context. This session will look at the intersections of socio-economics, racial and gender identity, geography, and class, as well as structures and systems that impact the reproductive health and lives of diverse individuals and communities. While abortion is a critical component of reproductive autonomy, our panelists will expand the discussion beyond abortion to include the complexities of family building, pregnancy-related mortality, infant health, and the historical context that has led us to where we are today in the arc towards reproductive justice.
Register for this panel discussion and others here: https://www.diversity.pitt.edu/events/diversity-forum-2022