Midwest Access Coalition Welcomes Diana Parker as Executive Director

As Hotline Numbers Double, Parker Brings History of Mutual-Aid Work and Commitment to Reproductive Justice to one of the Nation’s Most Comprehensive Practical Abortion Funds

Midwest Access Coalition Executive Director Diana Parker.

CHICAGO (July 28, 2020) — Midwest Access Coalition (MAC), a Chicago-based practical support abortion fund, today announced the appointment of Diana Parker as the organization’s Executive Director.

“At a time when access is playing an undeniably critical role in ensuring individuals can get the essential abortion care they need, we could not be more thrilled for Diana Parker to lead MAC into a new chapter, said Devin Gosberry, Co-Chair of MAC’s Board of Directors. “Diana has repeatedly proven her deep dedication to centering clients in every aspect of her work, building a network of collaborative and unapologetically pro-abortion advocates and anchoring her direct-service work within a reproductive justice framework."

Parker, a long-time Rogers Park resident, has spent years as an organizer and supporter of Chicago-based progressive organizations that uphold an individual’s right to access high-quality healthcare. Prior to joining MAC in 2016 as a Client Coordinator and before assuming the role of Director of Strategic Partnerships in 2018, Parker was deeply involved in organizing and providing client-centered care at Chicago Action Medical, Rape Victims Advocates (now Resilience) and Chicago Volunteer Doulas.

As MAC’s Director of Strategic Partnerships, Parker built connections and opportunities for resource sharing and future collaboration among funds and clinics in the abortion access space across the Midwest, including Hope Clinic For Women, Women Have Options Ohio and Kentucky Health Justice Network. When the novel coronavirus made America’s abortion access landscape exceedingly treacherous, Parker joined other abortion access leaders in issuing a call for collaboration that resulted in rapid-response organizing between practical abortion funds across state lines to ensure that access remained possible for residents in states where abortion care was suddenly inaccessible.

A 2019 honoree of Solidarity To Celebrate, an event launched by abolitionist organizer Mariame Kaba, Parker currently serves on the Board of Directors at the Chicago Community Bond Fund and the Advisory Board of Men4Choice. 

“Connection, collaboration and growth among practical support organizations is critical to building a better future at this complicated moment in the movement,” Parker said. “True access to reproductive choice is at the center of MAC’s model for practical support, which involves accompanying people who sit at the intersections of systemic oppressions as they navigate undue burdens in an attempt to attain abortion care.”

Parker succeeds Leah Greenblum as MAC’s Executive Director.

“When considering who would be best equipped to usher in a new era at MAC, Diana was the clear choice because she was already realizing the board’s vision for MAC’s future,” said Nicole Lopez, Founding Member of MAC’s Board of Directors and current Secretary of the Board of Directors. “Diana has repeatedly demonstrated her commitment to grounding MAC’s work in a reproductive justice framework. She has played an indispensable role in building out MAC’s practical support services and forging generative relationships with abortion clinics, funds and clients.”

About Midwest Access Coalition

As a practical abortion fund, Midwest Access Coalition (MAC) works with people who travel to, from and within the Midwest to access safe and legal abortion care. MAC works 24/7 to arrange travel, lodging, food, childcare and emotional support to lessen the undue burdens put upon those who seek abortions.

Headquartered in Chicago, MAC is a community-based nonprofit built upon a network of more than 200 volunteer hosts, drivers, coordinators and administrators. MAC envisions a world in which all people have access to safe, free and legal abortions wherever they live. Since 2014, MAC has served more than 1,200 people in more than 20 states.