JUDY TABAR ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT AS PRESIDENT AND CEO OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND

Tabar’s 20 years of service have been a time of reproductive health care advancements, vision and community impact.

Judy Tabar has announced her retirement as President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, one of the region’s largest providers of family planning and reproductive health care services, effective April 2017.

Tabar has served as President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England (PPSNE) since 1997. PPSNE serves Connecticut and Rhode Island at 18 health centers with an annual budget of $30 million. But it is the organization’s commitment to serving nearly 70,000 patients every year that Tabar says is most humbling.

“Being the CEO of PPSNE is the greatest gift I could have imagined. It has offered me the opportunity to do meaningful work, which makes a difference in the world. Our patients inspire me and are the reason I have been here for 20 years, along with talented and dedicated staff and board members, our generous donors and our volunteers, whom I respect and admire,” said Tabar. “The PPSNE mission is compelling, our commitment to social justice and equity emboldens me; and the people who are drawn to work for and support Planned Parenthood are extraordinary. I am confident the next chapter for PPSNE will be one of continued progress and compassion.”

Tabar joined Planned Parenthood in 1980 as a physician assistant providing direct patient care. She served as Associate Director of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England prior to moving to Connecticut in 1997. As President and CEO of PPSNE, Tabar has overseen a 42% patient increase, from 49,000 in 1997 to nearly 70,000 today. In 2009, she facilitated a merger with Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island. Her commitment to removing barriers to health care services and information has contributed to decreasing racial and ethnic health disparities in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Under her leadership, PPSNE has focused on reducing teen birth rates in southern New England, which have reached historic lows as more young people delay sexual activity and use birth control when they do have sex.
Under Tabar’s leadership, the affiliate has expanded its services to include primary care and a clinical research program. Considered a visionary by her colleagues, Tabar has placed PPSNE on the cutting edge of reproductive health care service expansion by leading a $22 million capital campaign, now nearly complete.

“Judy’s legacy is powerful. She is a gracious and outstanding leader,” said Simone Joyaux, Chair of the PPSNE Board of Directors. “She has built PPSNE into a driving force for social justice. She has been a champion for Planned Parenthood nationally.”

Tabar has served in numerous leadership roles within the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), and currently serves on the PPFA Board of Directors. “Over her career, Judy Tabar has reshaped access to and advocacy for reproductive health care in America,” stated Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “For the past two decades, both in her home states of Connecticut and Rhode Island, as well as across the country, she has led in every major effort to expand the Planned Parenthood movement and our role in health care and education. Judy understood early on that investing in new methods of health care delivery – from online services to expanded abortion access – was critical to the future health of our patients.

“Judy invested in a whole new generation of leaders and advocates, and helped make Connecticut the North Star for reproductive care and rights. She has championed reproductive justice and the work to build a more inclusive and diverse movement for true reproductive equality. She has always believed that our best days are ahead of us, and she constantly looked for opportunities to innovate. Her leadership during the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act helped ensure that reproductive health care access – especially to birth control – was expanded and covered, helping lead this country to a thirty-year low in unintended pregnancy.”

“It has been such a joy and honor to work alongside her for the past decade. Judy is a selfless leader, a friend, and someone who has improved the lives of countless people in this country and across the globe. She will be much missed in the Planned Parenthood family; she has enriched our movement and our lives,” said Richards.

Since Tabar has been with PPSNE, the affiliate has received a number of awards. These include PPFA Excellence Awards in Clinical Services Expansion, Board Development, Special Efforts Serving Teens, and Clinical Training; as well as the Eastern Region Pepe Award for Excellence in Serving Diverse Communities, and the Ruth Mott Rawlings Mott Award for International Excellence. In 2007, Tabar was the recipient of the Ruth Green Award, in recognition of her leadership excellence as a Planned Parenthood affiliate CEO.

A search committee has been formed by the PPSNE board, who will begin a nationwide search for Tabar’s replacement.

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Planned Parenthood of Southern New England (PPSNE) is one of the region’s largest providers of family planning and reproductive health care services. Since 1923, PPSNE has evolved into an organization with 18 health centers in Connecticut and Rhode Island, delivering care to nearly 70,000 patients annually, and 90 percent of the services provided are preventive.