Alumni Spotlight: Tanisha Humphrey
School, grad year, major Georgetown University, 2012, Sociology How were you involved with URGE? I was a Chapter Leader with H*yas for Choice at Georgetown. Because Georgetown is a Catholic school, they do not support the work of H*yas for Choice, which is why we cannot officially use the school’s mascot, Hoyas, and instead have to use an asterisks. HFC relies heavily on outside groups like URGE for funding, organizing training and strategies, condoms, and frankly, for emotional support. It is difficult to feel like your University shames you for participating in something that you really believe in and feel is right. URGE helped to provide validation – that the work we are doing as important and necessary and then helped us do it. What do you do now and… Read more »
Latin@s to Watch Out For: Stephanie Bernal-Martinez
As we approach the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, URGE and National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health will be highlighting fierce young Latin@s that are doing amazing social justice work. Name: Stephanie Bernal-Martinez Organization or Movement: Radical Queer Progressive Educator Tumblr: quetevayabienamor Not every Latin@ identifies as “Hispanic”, how do you identify and what is your heritage? I identify as a Queer Xicana from the U.S./Mexico borderlands. Mi Mamá is from Baja California and was raised in the small village of Bataquez, Mexicali, B.C. Is there a Latin@ leader you look up to, if so who? If not, why not? At this moment, I am the Latinx/Xicana leader that I look up to. I’ve spent a large portion of my life not seeing myself in mainstream media. I’ve spent a lifetime aching for a… Read more »
Latin@s to Watch Out For: Nancy Cárdenas
As we approach the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, URGE and National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health will be highlighting fierce young Latin@s that are doing amazing social justice work. Name: Nancy Cárdenas Organization or Movement: NARAL Pro-Choice Texas Board Twitter handle: @ncardenastx Not every Latin@ identifies as “Hispanic”, how do you identify and what is your heritage? I was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley. As an RGV native, I carry this identity everywhere. I am extremely proud of my home. Both my parents are Mexican immigrants who share difficult and personal stories of their crossing. I learned English in school and always try to advocate for bilingual options in movements. I consider myself a Latina feminist. Sometimes using only one label to accurately describe and identify the intersections of complex… Read more »
Latin@s to Watch Out For: Sofia Campos
As we approach the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, URGE and National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health will be highlighting fierce young Latin@s that are doing amazing social justice work. Name: Sofia Campos Organization or Movement: United We Dream, Freedom Side Twitter handle: @campoSOFIA Not every Latin@ identifies as “Hispanic”, how do you identify and what is your heritage? I identify as a Latina. Peruana. Mujer/Womyn. I was born in Peru, and raised in LA since I was a 6 so I’m also an Angelina. And a proud immigrant. Is there a Latin@ leader you look up to, if so who? If not, why not? Many, and I’m blessed to say they are my friends and colleagues. Being involved in the immigrant youth movement grants me the opportunity to know and befriend hundreds of… Read more »
Latin@s to Watch Out For: Patrick Fierro
As we approach the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, URGE and National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health will be highlighting fierce young Latin@s that are doing amazing social justice work. Name: Patrick Fierro Organization or Movement: GetEqual Texas State Lead Twitter handle: @PatrickMFierro Not every Latin@ identifies as “Hispanic”, how do you identify and what is your heritage? I identify as a Queer Chican@. Queer, because I have came out to myself first and have came to understand my sexual orientation and gender identity through out the years. Chican@, It was commonly used during the mid-1960s by Mexican-American activists. I considered it to be a positive term of honor, I feel very connected to those two because of the activist work I advocate for. Is there a Latin@ leader you look up to, if so… Read more »
Latin@s to Watch Out For: Stephanie Mascorro
As we approach the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, URGE and National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health will be highlighting fierce young Latin@s that are doing amazing social justice work. Name: Stephanie Mascorro Organization or Movement: The URGE affiliate chapter at University of North Texas Twitter handle: @stephmascorro Not every Latin@ identifies as “Hispanic”, how do you identify and what is your heritage? As someone who has grown up trying to understand why I was so different from all my other friends and why I had different traditions than some of my other friends, and then growing up and understanding what everything my family celebrates means, I am proud to say that I identify as a Hispanic Mexican. Is there a Latin@ leader you look up to, if so who? If not, why not?… Read more »
Latin@s to Watch out for: Diana Robinson
As we approach the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, URGE and National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health will be highlighting fierce young Latin@s that are doing amazing social justice work. Name: Diana Robinson Organization or Movement: Food Chain Workers Alliance Twitter handle: @Ddee1985 Not every Latin@ identifies as “Hispanic”, how do you identify and what is your heritage? I identify as Afro Latina. My mother is from Dominican Republic and my dad is from an Island called Providencia which is a territory of Colombia. Is there a Latin@ leader you look up to, if so who? If not, why not? Yes, I very much look up to Dolores Huerta. She played major role that is sometimes ignored in starting the United Farmworkers. What does it mean to be Latin@ in the United States right… Read more »
Latin@s to Watch out for: Marco Antonio Quiroga
As we approach the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, URGE and National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health will be highlighting fierce young Latin@s that are doing amazing social justice work. Name: Marco Antonio Quiroga Organization or Movement: National Field Officer, Immigration Equality Twitter handle: @IEquality Not every Latin@ identifies as “Hispanic”, how do you identify and what is your heritage? I was born in Peru, grew up undocumented in Florida, and am now a DACA recipient. Like so many people, I am part of a mixed-status family: my brother is a citizen, my sister also qualified for DACA, my other brother fell victim to deportation, and my mother remains undocumented. I am an out and proud gay man! I identify as an empowered young gay man of color. Is there a Latin@… Read more »
URGE Takes to Capitol Hill to Fight Coverage Bans on Abortion!
This week, URGE staff and student leaders joined 180 other delegates to talk to members of Congress about the issue of public funding for abortion. The effort was a part of our work with the All Above All coalition. Delegates asked members of Congress to sign the Be Bold Declaration to show their support of ending coverage bans for abortion. If you also believe that how much money someone makes shouldn’t affect their access to critical healthcare, you can sign the Be Bold Declaration too!
Alumni Spotlight: Elise Higgins
University of Kansas Class of 2010? Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Political Science How were you involved with URGE? Joy Lawson, a former Midwest Regional Field Coordinator from Kansas, brought me into URGE my sophomore year of college. I went to the life-changing 2008 Midwest Gloria Steinem Leadership Institute in Chicago and have been on a path ever since then; I served afterward as Secretary, Vice President and President of my school’s chapter of URGE. What do you do now and how do you bring a reproductive justice frame to the work you do? I’m the Kansas Manager of Government Affairs at Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, which means I lobby in the Kansas Statehouse for reproductive rights and do political, communications and grassroots work across the state…. Read more »
