Power to Change Stories

By Asha Dahya

I am an independent filmmaker, producer, author and TEDx Speaker. My short animated documentary, “Someone You Know,” profiles the stories of three women who had abortions late in their pregnancy. The goal is to dismantle stigma about later abortion, and foster empathy. In the lead-up to the mid-terms where reproductive rights are on the ballot in California, and Roe v Wade has now been overturned nationally, this film is my way of connecting women through the power of storytelling on a topic that is personal and important.

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By Chanel Nicole Scott

“If they could see me now, what would they think of me?” When I left Nashville, I was broken, lost, and without hope for a brighter future. I was heartbroken, jobless, and without any prospect of recovery, healing, or prosperity.

After my time in Nashville, I lived the darkest days of my life. To make matters worse, I knew that those in Nashville who knew my story or pieces of it only thought the worst of me. I despise being misunderstood, and even though I left so much of my truth unsaid, staying was more traumatic than leaving.

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By Cassandra Kandah

I watched her push herself out from the broken window, 40 stories up, from a skyscraper, in downtown Chicago. I screamed up to her, like I scream for all of those I know and have met with this type of pain, “It’s never worth it! There is always hope!” She thrusted herself out the window and I cried in terror as she fell to the ground with a “thud” that still shakes me to my core. I did not know this woman, but I knew since the advent of the covid-19 pandemic, the sheer volume of individuals coming to my clinic, endorsing suicidal thoughts, skyrocketed to as high as 80% of the new patients I saw.

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By Eiko La Boria and Sabrina Browne

Nationwide, 7 in 10 people agree that period poverty is a public health issue according to U By Kotex. At The Flow Initiative, we are committed to eradicating period poverty and accelerating access to menstrual health products in Hudson County, New Jersey, and nationwide.

Period poverty is the lack of access to menstrual products because of affordability. This can exclude women, young girls, non-binary, and trans-Americans from basic activities, from sports to socializing, or attending work or school. This is a global health issue and multi-layered crisis, that is often shrouded in silence, stigma, and shame. That's why The Flow Initiative is working to usher in a new dawn of menstrual equity for girls, women, and all who menstruate.

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By Ezinne Iroanya

I built SKNMUSE as a catalyst for Black and Brown folks to dwell in their beauty experience, combining luxury with cultural authenticity to produce luxurious beauty products that center rest and ease. Inspired by my first job as a perfumer, I realized that the existing skincare market did not cater to the needs of the Modern Black women and I wanted to fill that gap. For decades women who look like me have had to just make do, whipping formulas in our kitchens or using beauty products that never quite meet the bar.

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By Heather Booth

While I was still in college in the 1960s, a friend of mine was raped at knifepoint, in her bed in off-campus housing. We went with her to Student Health to get her a gynecological exam. Student Health said they “didn’t cover gynecological exams.” She was given a lecture on her promiscuity.

Another friend contacted me and said his sister was pregnant and nearly suicidal, not ready to have a child. And she wanted an abortion. I hadn’t really thought about the issue before. It was a more innocent time, and in some ways, I was a more innocent person.

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By Nicole Anderson Cobb

Earlier this year, I was awarded an artist-in-residency at Allerton Park & Retreat Center where a colleague and I examined the history of the park and 19th century setter-Native American relations. I am deeply grateful to my Auburn Colloquium Colleagues and Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center educators for gently reminding me to make room for Native communities themselves in my work— spurring me to deeper allyship between African American and Native American educators.

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By Lian Pham

This philanthropic vision, and ‘pay it forward’ mentality, was inspired by my background. My parents fled Vietnam to the U.S. in 1975, sponsored by Jewish immigrants, who had themselves been sponsored decades prior, escaping to the US to start a new life. This ‘pay it forward’ of sponsorships changed the
trajectory of my life and influenced how I am as a person.

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By Cara Peterson

Effortless Perfection tends to create environments where people are so set on making it seem like they have all things put together at all points in time that when they do inevitably struggle, they look around at their seemingly flawless peers and think they are the only ones struggling, causing them feel very isolated and alone.

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By Josephine Atluri

It is my hope that aspiring parents have the tools and resources to care for their mental and emotional well-being as they traverse through the oftentimes challenging journey to becoming a parent.

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By Holly Bell

The fight for justice is worth it at every level, and I might be the first to lead that fight here, but I will not be the last woman to carry my title as proudly as I do. The great news is that in the end, the law always wins when the fight for justice is relentless.

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By Nina Simons.

When I first realized how my own internalized gender biases and beliefs were limiting my choices, behavior and leadership, I was shocked, then enlivened. Excited to embark on altering them. I began exploring inwardly, excavating how unconscious cultural conditioning had contributed to the story about what I was capable of visioning or achieving in my life. 

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By Sharla Toller. There’s a significant difference between an organization saying, “We value Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace,” and adequately holding its leaders in their organization accountable for upholding that reality and driving meaningful change. But it’s the accountability that really matters. That is what leads to sustainable and impactful change within an organization.

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By Emefa Boamah. So, I will rest, and you know what? The world will go on and it’s ok. I will try again tomorrow.

The onset of the pandemic. A personal near-death experience from COVID and it’s aftereffects for six months. Civil Unrest. Gun shootings. And most recently, living in a post Roe v. Wade country. Is this still the land of the free and home of the brave?

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By Bethany Corbin, JD. I began getting involved with femtech around 2018-2019 when I was teaching at Wake Forest University School of Law. I finished my healthcare LL.M. at Loyola University of Chicago and my thesis focused on liability for the internet of medical things (IoMT).

When I was at Wake Forest, I became interested in the intersection of connected health devices/IoMT and women’s health. As I researched this area, I realized there was a gap in the femtech discussion from the legal community.

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By Rania Nasis, MD, MBA. While in medical school, I met countless doctors who wanted to help patients but who were thwarted from doing just that. In particular, I saw how doctors weren’t empowered by technology; they were held hostage by it. This didn’t sit well with me. I knew tech could be a transformative force. So, I set off to find innovative approaches outside of traditional healthcare to make a real difference in the lives of real people.

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By Susan Salenger. As I was wheeled into the cold operating room, attached to various tubes, I felt angry at myself for agreeing to have surgery I was convinced I didn't need. It turned out I was right—and to this day, many years later, I still feel bad that I had been so passive. But after talking with other women about their healthcare decisions, I found that many of them had acquiesced in the same way and felt similar regrets. These experiences forced me to wonder what makes women agree to do something to our bodies that we fundamentally think is wrong.

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By Kari Pearce. I set my attention on creating a program that could provide a full workout, in a limited time. All of the results, without the countless hours at the gym. I have now created over 24 programs in a way to get the most out of your time.

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By Dr. Tara Lalvani. I wasn’t from a business background and I am a testament that your past should never define your future. It has been a joy to see the impact Beautifect has made globally already and my wish is for more women to go after their dreams and fulfil their potential. It’s never too late to make a change.

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By Julie Danis. My reinvention journey gave me the power to be who I am in my 60s and beyond: a writer and storyteller working on a play I believe will make others realize they’re not alone in what they experience and feel. My words do matter and my happiness and success is linked to being me.

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