The Woman with a Purpose While lounging on a beach one day during summer break, Jill June’s mother asked her what she was reading. That day she happened to be reading a crime novel. It was packed with explicit images of women who were dead from illegal abortion procedures. June’s mother said to her that day, “Women shouldn’t have to die because they don’t want to be pregnant. It’s just wrong.” From a young age, June knew she wanted to make the world a better place for women and children. For nearly three decades, June was an astonishing and imaginative leader for Planned Parenthood. Throughout June’s time at Planned Parenthood, she witnessed multiple mergers, consolidations and capital expansions that have resulted in a regional health care organization with 27 clinics across four states. June said she tries to live by a quote from “The Diary of Anne Frank”. “How wonderful is it that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world?” –Anne Frank -‐-‐-‐ As I walk into June’s living room she offers me a beverage and tells me how her shoulder surgery she was scheduled to have the following day got rescheduled. I look up at a contraption screwed into the white popcorn-‐textured ceiling as she explains how it works. June joked about how some people think that with the contraption on the ceiling, something kinky goes in there, but really, it was recommended by her physical therapist to keep her joints mobile. -‐-‐-‐ June grew up in Pittsburgh with her mother, father and two sisters, Bonnie and Sandy. Her parents owned a successful chain of stores, similar to Wal-‐Mart, all over southwest Pennsylvania.
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