_{Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Marriott Rivercenter
Co-Chairs: Jennifer Hwa Dobbertin & Josie Negley Gill Schlather}

As the largest provider of sexual and reproductive health care in the region, Planned Parenthood South Texas empowers tens of thousands of South Texans every year to move their lives and their families forward. Last year, we provided high-quality, non-judgmental care to 24,652 patients. Your support of our Annual Luncheon funds the compassion our community counts on us for every day.

This year's luncheon speaker, Stacey Abrams, is more than a voting rights advocate and an inspiring political leader who helped transform the balance of U.S. political power in 2020 and 2021. Much like Planned Parenthood and our supporters, Stacey Abrams is a force of nature.

Abrams’ work demonstrates how one woman’s energetic commitment to change can lift up whole communities. Her unflinching commitment to fighting the systemic inequities prevalent in the United States gives us hope that together, we can achieve a better world.

Raised in Mississippi and Georgia, Abrams graduated from Spelman College and earned a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs. Later, she attended Yale Law School and trained as a tax attorney before being appointed Deputy City Attorney for the City of Atlanta at age 29. Abrams served as Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives from 2011 to 2017.

A passionate advocate for communities that have been historically marginalized, Abrams has launched several nonprofit organizations devoted to protecting democracy, engaging voters at the local and national level, and building a more equitable future in the South. Most notably, her efforts to fight voter suppression boosted voter turnout in Georgia in 2020 and 2021, helping Democrats secure the White House and the Senate.

As an author, Abrams’ works range from the inspiring New York Times bestsellers Our Time is Now and Lead from the Outside to children’s books, political thrillers, and romantic suspense novels.

A serial entrepreneur, Abrams has co-founded a financial services firm and an infrastructure consulting firm, among others. She served as a producer on the Oscar-nominated documentary All In: The Fight for Democracy and was nominated for an Emmy for her work on an election-themed special episode of “Black-ish.”