to work diligently to protect reproductive rights for the women of Virginia.
Rallying for the Affordable Care Act outside the Supreme Court. Alena is on the far left.
The outreach skills she honed during her time at Population Connection serve as the foundation of her work at NARAL, where she is responsible for the coordination of the organization’s electioneering, as well as their reproductive choice communications efforts. During the 2013 Virginia state elections, Alena was responsible for coordinating the day-to-day activities of NARAL’s campaign volunteers while also “jumping to produce a response whenever Ken Cuccinelli said something crazy.” She is encouraged by the results of Virginia’s fall elections, in which multiple pro-choice candidates were elected to office. She notes that advocacy is a lot of work, and that the election results are “encouraging steps, but these positive steps might not translate into ideal policy, which is frustrating. Every little step matters, but we’re not going to see results immediately, because reproductive politics are fought on such a grand playing field, and this work is such a long term effort.” Of her advocacy work in Virginia, Alena says that she “really likes the fact that [she] can make a difference—there is so much work to be done in Virginia on the policy, advocacy, and messaging www.popconnect.org
sides.” She loves working with NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia’s “legislative rapid response team,” which helps the organization track and respond to legislation in the state legislature. She says that the battle for reproductive rights has become “hyperlocal” and that many legislative decisions are quietly made in state capitals. Therefore, it’s especially important for pro-choice activists to be “vigilant” in their attempts to “illuminate this process.” On her development as an advocate, Alena reflects that she has gained a greater respect for the political process
and has become more involved in state and local politics. While she’s become “much more of a realist about the possibility of Roe vs. Wade being overturned,” she is also encouraged by the pro-choice candidates recently elected in Virginia, and thinks that it’s “really great to see women and voters engaged in this issue.” The childhood version of Alena, who first held campaign signs at age seven, would be proud of the advocate she has grown up to be. We’re proud that working at Population Connection was an early stop on her professional journey and look forward to watching her future accomplishments. March 2014 — Population Connection 29