Welcome to our 2nd Annual Gala Page. We are excited to share our work, celebrate another year of service, and recognize our community partners and champions!

Desert Star Institute for Family Planning is a Black Woman founded and led 501c3 organization working to advance Reproductive Justice in Arizona and beyond.

This year we will welcome you to the beautiful Alborada Village in South Phoenix.

Prepare to be dazzled by our featured emcee Felicia 'Fefe' Minor.

Meet Felicia Minor, a vibrant and talented drag queen, entertainer, co-host, producer, and social media guru.

Felicia’s commitment to giving back to her community is another aspect of her inspiring character. She raises funds for non-profit and community organizations.

Felicia’s uplifting personality and dedication to her craft and community make her an inspiration to others.

More about Felicia

Chef Alejandre Richards of The Tie Kitchen, Tucson, AZ is back serving up delectable Hors d’oeuvres that will stay on your mind and heart until next year's gala!

Follow The Tie Kitchen on Facebook.

Resisting the criminalization of pregnant people and abortion requires solidarity among all people who support and advocate for birthers through the full spectrum of care that they may need during pregnancy.

Meet featured speaker Dr. Michelle Drew (she/her), an award-winning nurse, midwife, author, activist, and the Executive Director and founder of Ubuntu Black Family Wellness Collective as a featured speaker.

Awarded the American College of Nurse-Midwives Health Equity Award in 2022, Dr. Drew's dedication stems from a family history rooted in the Civil Rights Movement. With a career spanning advocacy at local, state, and federal levels, she ensures equitable access to culturally rooted healthcare services and protects abortion rights. Dr. Drew's commitment to serve shines through her clinical practice, where she advocates for respectful care for Black and Brown families, attending over 3,000 births worldwide.

Dr. Drew earned her master’s degree in public health with a focus on maternal child health and tropical diseases from Tulane University, a master’s in nursing from Vanderbilt University, and a doctorate in nursing practice from Texas Woman’s University. With extensive education in public health, nursing, and nursing practice, Dr. Drew's proudest achievement lies in continuing her family's legacy as a tenth-generation midwife, healer, and keeper of birth traditions passed down for more than 270 years.

Learn more about the Ubuntu Black Family Wellness Collective.

Many people were already living in a post-Roe reality before the Supreme Court officially overturned the pivotal ruling. "Innovative, powerful ideas that differ from the status quo have always come from underrepresented communities during unprecedented times."

Meet featured speaker Israel Cook! Israel (she/her) is State Legislative Counsel on the State Policy and Advocacy Team at the Center for Reproductive Rights. She works on all aspects of state legislative and policy advocacy across the United States and is responsible for tracking and analyzing a wide range of state legislation and regulations affecting reproductive rights to support the Center’s clients and state partners.

Israel joined the Center in 2020 as the State Legislative Fellow, tracking abortion legislation in all 50 U.S. states and U.S. territories. She served as an If/When/How Reproductive Justice State Fellow at SisterReach in Tennessee. She is currently an At-Large Board Member with Abortion Care Network. Israel received her J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law and her B.A. in Sociology & Anthropology from Transylvania University.

The Desert Star Health Justice Clinic is located in AZ legislative District 5. We are fortunate to have an ally representing us in the House of Representatives.

Meet featured speaker Sarah Liguori! Sarah Liguori is a native Arizonan from Tucson. Her career has spanned multiple sectors in both real estate and finance, but it was in local politics that she found a way to combine her career experience and passion to make a difference. Appointed to the Arizona legislature in October 2021, Sarah lives and works in the heart of both the district she currently represents, Legislative District 28, and in the new Legislative District 5. Sarah strives to find solutions that bring equity and progress to the people. Leading with empathy and kindness, she brings a courageous sense of leadership to fight for what’s right.

Learn more about Representative Liguori.

We envision a world where people exercise bodily autonomy, decide whether or not to bear children, and raise families in safe, sustainable communities free from oppression and violence. "I envision a world where all Arizonans have the ability to thrive free of oppression and state violence."

Meet featured speaker Analise Ortiz! Analise Ortiz (she/her/ella) is a state representative, born-and-raised Arizonan, and former journalist. Her parents, who are both educators, taught her the importance of taking care of her community. She graduated summa cum laude from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at ASU and went on to become an investigative reporter. After uncovering government corruption and exposing harmful legislation, Analise realized she wanted to create policy–not just report about it. She began working at the ACLU and the ACLU of Arizona where she championed criminal justice reform and federal immigration reform. The people of Maryvale and Glendale elected her to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2022.

Follow Representative Ortiz on Instagram.

Our mission is to create equitable access to reproductive and sexual health care while centering Black and Indigenous people of color.

Our work is rooted in 4 main priorities:

Provide a steadfast resource for comprehensive family planning, gender affirming, and sexual health care, and a safe and welcoming space for non-English speaking people, queer, transgender, gender nonconforming, nonbinary, and young people. Desert Star Health Justice Clinic
Train the next generation of abortion providers within the Reproductive Justice framework that focuses on the whole person, providing a unique understanding of the barriers historically marginalized people may encounter in medical communities where they've felt excluded. Next Generation Abortion Providers Program
Deliver educational content and programs that help people from historically marginalized communities access reproductive health care and exercise autonomy over their bodies and lives. Doula Training, Long-Term Birth Control, Patient Assistance for Abortion Care
Engage, build relationships, and mobilize local policy makers, advocates, and community members directly impacted by harmful policies towards and Arizona that provides the conditions for people to freely decide when and how to form families and raise children. Arizona Proactive Reproductive Justice Alliance, BIPOC Reproductive Justice Table, Empower Alliance for Reproductive Justice

We envision a world where people exercise bodily autonomy, decide whether or not to bear children, and raise families in safe, sustainable communities free from oppression and violence.

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