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Dear Friend,

I have some important news to share with you.  The time has come for me to complete my transition out of ACCESS. September 15th will be my last official day but my love for and commitment to this organization will stay with me forever.  

Our board and staff are currently engaged in a process to usher in ACCESS' future leadership, and we will make an announcement about this in the coming months. We are excited for the work to come, and the staff are ready to lead this new chapter at ACCESS.

This year marks my 10 year anniversary at ACCESS and my 5th year as the Executive Director.  ACCESS has been a huge part of my life and my children's lives too. I'm proud to have built upon the legacy of the incredible people that came before me at ACCESS and know that ACCESS will continue to be in great hands. 

I wanted to thank you for your support in all the accomplishments we have achieved together over the past five years.   When I came on as the Executive Director at the end of 2012, ACCESS had been hit hard by the economic recession and was on the verge of closing.  By keeping our doors open:
  • We have been able to provide support for around 2000 callers for whom no other comparable service is available. 
  • We passed two state legislative bills and are on track to pass a third. 
  • We partnered with Access Reproductive Care - Southeast to assist in scaling their organization to our size a decade faster than ACCESS did and launching a support network for callers in 6 states in the U.S. South. 
  • We led an effort with seven other organizations to put up eight reproductive justice billboards, including one that replaced an anti-choice billboard.  
We did all this while more than doubling the amount of funding we distribute to callers on the healthline and increasing the number of volunteers who can provide practical support from around 75 to over 250 people around the state.

The tremendous feats of the past few years have been a result of the admirable work of our 4 person staff, 11 member working board of directors, 20+ interns, 250 practical support volunteers, and 3500 donors.  

I want to also take this moment to highlight the ACCESS staff.  They bring the heart of reproductive justice and are truly experts in what they do, running the programs, and the day to day operations of this organization.  I think I can speak for us all when I say it's not easy to do this work, but the commitment to our callers and advancing reproductive justice keeps ACCESS moving forward. 

I am so appreciative to the staff and board for their leadership in this next chapter.  

If you would like to keep in touch with me, my personal email address is samara.azam@gmail.com . Thank you again for all your support over the years!

In solidarity,
Samara Azam-Yu
Executive Director

P.S. ACCESS has made a difference in my life and the lives of thousands of others.  I know I will be a lifelong supporter as I hope you will too. Please consider joining me in making a $20/month gift to ACCESS. This work has never been more critical!


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For questions on the transition process, please reach out to our Board Co-Chairs, Alicia Harris and Sarah Layton, at aliciareneeharris@gmail.com and sarah.r.layton@gmail.com.
For logistical questions or to get in touch about a specific program, please reach out to ACCESS' Operations Manager Sara Spriggs at sara@accesswhj.org.
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ACCESS Women's Health Justice | accesswhj.org | info@accesswhj.org
Office: 510.923.0739  |  Fax: 510.923.0014