2025 Champions of Choice
ABOUT CHAMPIONS OF CHOICE
The annual Champions of Choice gala supports the National Institute for Reproductive Health and its Action Fund, and our work in cities and states nationwide to advance just and equitable reproductive freedom. This year, NIRH and NIRH AF took it from day to night with an evening event where reproductive freedom advocates came together to honor those who do work on the ground, who speak up and speak out, as well as those who support the movement philanthropically — all to protect and advance reproductive health, rights, and justice.
2025 CHAMPIONS OF CHOICE HONOREES
MILA ATMOS
Mila Atmos, a global citizen based in New York City, is the producer and series host of Future Hindsight, a weekly podcast that aims to spark civic engagement through in-depth conversations with citizen changemakers.
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What most informs Mila’s worldview is her belief that citizen participation is fundamental to a thriving democracy. Mila combines life experiences from living in multiple cultures ranging from Indonesia to Germany to the rural U.S. with her knowledge base in history, economics, and international affairs (B.A. & M.I.A. Columbia University) in creating Future Hindsight.
Attorney General Andrea JOY CAMPBELL
Andrea Joy Campbell is the 45th Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, pledging to build economic prosperity and stability for all residents, prioritize the mental health and well-being of children, stop cycles of incarceration and violence and ensure the people across the state have access to the AG’s Office regardless of their zip code, language or ability.
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Growing up in Roxbury, Andrea’s life was filled with instability. When Andrea was eight months old, she lost her mother to a car accident while going to visit her father in prison. She and her brothers bounced around – living with relatives and sometimes in foster care – until her father got out of prison when she was eight years old, and she met him for the first time.
Andrea and her family relied on public housing and food assistance while her grandmother struggled with alcoholism. Her two brothers sadly cycled in and out of the prison system. She lost her twin brother Andre, when he passed away while in the custody of the Department of Corrections as a pre-trial detainee.
Through all of this, Andrea persevered. Thanks to loving relatives, community support and a network of teachers who encouraged her, she turned pain into purpose. She graduated from Boston Latin School and then worked her way through college with the help of grants and student loans, graduating from Princeton University and UCLA Law School.
After earning her law degree, she worked as a legal services attorney for the EdLaw project, defending the rights of children and their families — particularly those with disabilities.
Andrea also practiced law at Proskauer LLP as an employment attorney, and ultimately left to serve the public as General Counsel at the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission, working across 101 cities and towns to address regional challenges like health care access, transportation, affordable housing, and climate change.
Andrea served as legal counsel to Governor Deval Patrick, working to improve our education and transportation systems and move forward an agenda of equity across the state.
In 2015, Andrea successfully ran for the Boston City Council becoming the first woman to represent District 4 on the Council. Her first piece of legislation was the Community Preservation Act, which still generates over $20 million annually for new affordable housing, historical preservation, and parks and open space. In 2018, she was unanimously elected City Council President – the first Black woman to hold the title.
COLOR
Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) is a community-rooted organization that works to enable Latinx individuals and their families to lead safe, healthy and self-determined lives.
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COLOR works to ensure that Latine individuals and their families are accessing opportunities and resources for the health of mind, body, and spirit.
COLOR values justice and equity for all people: creating awareness of intersectionality and the ways it is used to either support or marginalize Latine communities. They are a community rooted and work to create intergenerational opportunities and leadership. They model sex positivity and support Latine individuals’ right to make their own decisions.
Jessica Valenti
Jessica Valenti is a writer, activist, and one of the country’s most influential voices on gender and politics. The award-winning author of eight books—including the New York Times bestseller Abortion—she has shaped the national conversation on feminism for over two decades
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Jessica’s groundbreaking anthology Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape helped define the modern definition of consent and paved the way for legislation of the same name. She is also widely credited with sparking feminism’s online wave as the founder of the trailblazing blog Feministing.
A former columnist for The Guardian and The Nation, Jessica’s sharp, uncompromising analysis has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and on media outlets from CNN to The Daily Show. She speaks at colleges and organizations nationwide about feminism, abortion, and sexual violence.
After the fall of Roe, Jessica founded Abortion, Every Day, an urgent synthesis of anything and everything happening with abortion rights in the United States.
She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.
ELAINE WELTEROTH
Elaine Welteroth is an award-winning journalist, TV host, and author of the instant New York Times bestselling book “More Than Enough,” which won the 2020 NAACP Image Award for outstanding literary work. At age 29, she was named the youngest editor-in-chief in Condè Nast’s history, where under her leadership, Teen Vogue evolved into a platform that elevates marginalized voices and amplifies political discourse.
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After spending more than a decade climbing the ranks of magazine journalism, Elaine shares her expert fashion industry advice as a judge on Bravo’s “Project Runway.” Her MasterClass on redesigning your career debuted in 2021 and has helped thousands navigate career transitions. Now, her popular new advice column “Ask Elaine” appears in The Washington Post, exploring how to navigate pivots in life with more ease and less angst. In addition to The Washington Post, her writing appears in the New York Times, British Vogue, and TIME.
In April 2024, Elaine launched birthFUND, a movement for maternal health committed to expanding access to safe and affirming birth care across the country. Alongside founding funders such as Serena Williams, Kelly Rowland, and Karlie Kloss and corporate partners such as SoFi, Pampers, and BabyList, birthFUND has raised over $2.2 million for families seeking midwives while raising awareness and challenging the way the United States approaches maternal healthcare.
Elaine is a mom of two living with her husband in L.A.
2025 CHAMPIONS OF CHOICE AWARDS GALA EVENT SPONsORS
Champion Level
Elyse and Lawrence B. Benenson
Twentyeight Health
Trailblazer Level
Mila Atmos
Sharon Weinberg
Illuminary Level
BronxCare Health System
Meika Hollender
Dolores M. Smith
Visionary Level
Jess Jacobs
Sharon J. Monahan
Jacqui Lewis
Defender Level
Bob Fertik and Antonia Stolper
Kathleen S. McHugh
Janet Yearwood
Advocate Level
Kyra Barry
Linda Ellis
Ruth Goodstein
Grossman Solutions
Honeybee Strategic
Britta Jacobson
Ginger Knickman
Kim Koopersmith
Katherine Kovner
Amy Larocca
Miyoung Lee
Sarah Min
NCheng LLP
Laura Sievers
Spark Solutions
Partner Level
Amalgamated Bank
Roland Augustine
Nairi Balian
Kiki Burns
Lisa Carnoy
Art Chang
Victoria Clarke
Susan Coffin
Christina Earle
Michele Esposito
Christina Feege
Elizabeth Ferreira
Celeste Ford
Wendy Gellman
Staci Goodman
Kathryn Green
Peter Hatch
Sheila and Jeffrey Hollender
Samantha Hourian
Robert Jaffe
Natasha Jakubowski
Michi Jigarjian
Jennifer Justice
Lake Research Partners
Catherine Martin
Triona McCarthy
Sarina Ogden
Brinton Taylor Parson
Dawn Porter
Lynn Selassie
Alexandra Shapiro
Kim Woodward
Margot Zimmerman
2025 ChampionS of choice benefit
committee
Meika Hollender, Co-Chair
Bruno Van Tuykom, Co-Chair
Ivelyse Andino
Jennifer Justice
Jacqui Lewis
2025 nirh board of directors
Dolores M. Smith, Board Chair
Antoinette Danvers, MD, Secretary
Janet Yearwood, Treasurer
Anna Berent, JD
Daniel Gonzales, ex officio
Meika Hollender
Jess Jacobs
Natasha Jakubowski
Jennifer Justice
Jacqui Lewis
Kathy McHugh
Ashley Tyler
Bruno Van Tuykom
Sharon Weinberg
Dr. Jen Welter
2025 NIRH ACTION FUND BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Daniel Gonzales, Board Chair
Maria Vullo, Treasurer
Robert Jaffe, Secretary
Ivelyse Andino
Bob Fertik
Gabriela D. Lemus, PhD
Nathalie Molina Niño
Dolores M, Smith, ex officio