Our History
1992 Founded as ChoiceUSA
Founded as ChoiceUSA in 1992, by Gloria Steinem, Kristina Kiehl, and Julie Burton.
2000 Leadership of Crystal Plati
Under the new leadership of Executive Director Crystal Plati, and in response to additional polling conducted in 1999, we became an exclusively youth-focused organization. Over the next decade, ChoiceUSA will become increasingly focused on working with young people of color and young LGBTQ people.
2004 March for Women’s Lives
We lead the youth contingent of the March for Women’s Lives – one of the largest protests in U.S. history.
2010 Leadership of Kierra Johnson
Under a new strategic plan & leadership of new Executive Director, Kierra Johnson, we make the bold decision to refocus on investment in states where opportunities and challenges were greatest, reducing our national footprint in order to deepen our commitment.
2014 Rebranding & Name Change
We rebrand to URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity to better reflect our position as a young people’s reproductive justice organization and our broader focus on gender justice.
2015 Launch of IVE program
URGE launches Integrated Voter Engagement project to engage and mobilize young voters.
2017 Co-sponsor Women’s March
URGE co-sponsors the Women’s March.
2018 Leadership of Kimberly Inez McGuire
We welcome our new Executive Director, Kimberly Inez McGuire. Under her leadership, URGE contributes to record youth turnout in the midterm election.
2019 Strategic Plan
URGE ratifies our new strategic plan with a focus on power building, adopting a new mission, vision, and values.
2020 Re-launch California
The JustCARE campaign, staff and chapters join URGE – re-launching URGE California.
