Apiary is blooming 🌷🐝
Happy spring 🐝
Friday night took a turn with announcements of the tenuous legal status of mifepristone. We’re keeping an eye out and preparing for all possible outcomes with our practical support community and partners.
But while the news continues to be sad and hard, Apiary has been undergoing some exciting changes this spring, welcoming several new staff and board members to our flourishing team. We wanted to take a second here to tell you about them.
I am SO THRILLED to introduce you to the fourteen (fourteen!) people who are now bringing Apiary’s mission to life. We asked everyone to share their superpower - the skill or expertise that they can do that few others can. Enjoy these little peaks into their lives!
Not only do we have such an incredible crew, we’re also preparing to come together for the very first time (in person!) next month for my favorite thing—strategic planning. If you know me, you know I love to make an organizational development plan. I can’t wait to get these minds in a room together to generate our long-term vision and start designing the roadmap to get us there - and then share the outcome with you.
In solidarity,
Marisa Falcon
Executive Director
Apiary for Practical Support
PS: We have some really exciting program updates coming up in the next weeks and months - stay tuned. For real-time updates, not just this newsletter, follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
Let us introduce ourselves...
The Team
Marisa Falcon (she/her)*
Executive Director
New York
Superpower: Being able to see the forest for the trees - seeing both the little pieces that make up the work and how they all fit together to make one giant ecosystem of support. (Also finding the nearest body of water and getting into it.)
Marisa Falcon (she/her)*
Executive Director
New York
Superpower: Being able to see the forest for the trees - seeing both the little pieces that make up the work and how they all fit together to make one giant ecosystem of support. (Also finding the nearest body of water and getting into it.)
Tessa Benson (she/they)
Deputy Director
California
Superpower: Crafting wizard! I love sewing, crochet/knitting, embroidering, collaging, natural dyeing, and my latest interest/skill-building is hand-stitching Victorian-inspired lampshades.
Ayé (they/homie)
Blueprint Manager
North Carolina
Superpower: Alchemist/ liberator/ healer of hearts and minds, and I've been called a "divine disruptor." The more I learn the less I know, and that is exciting to me. To be a speck in our ever-expanding universe is liberating… lol my superpower is I speak poetically—was very beneficial as a salesperson/bartender, and now I use my skills for the movement.
Sara (they/she)
Volunteer Coordination Manager
New York
Superpower: No superpowers here, just an awkward soul trapped in this flesh that's slightly good at a lot of silly things—like walking fast, starting a billion books at once, falling in love with pets, holding eye contact, crying at any book/movie/show, making birthday cards, laughing at inappropriate times, and I used to be great a self-deprecating humor but my therapist ruined that for me… hashtag growth.
And introducing our newest members of the team!
Naduah (they/them)
Hivemind Manager
Oregon
Naduah is rounding out our West Coast team and will be joining us in late April to be the point of contact for all the practical support organizations we work with.
Superpower: Cat whisperer.
Jordan (she/her)
Data & Communications Advisor
Toronto, Canada
Jordan has been volunteering for us since July 2022 doing things like getting this newsletter out in time and we were so excited to get to bring her on to the team in March!
Superpower: Iron pumping maiden! I love working out and trying new sports—most recently, it's different forms of martial arts, curling, skiing, and motocross.
Kymberlie (she/her)
Executive Assistant
Texas
Kymberlie will also be joining in late April, providing support to Marisa and Tessa to make sure everything is running smoothly!
We also want to introduce you to the person who will be leading us through strategic planning! Their consulting firm, Experiments in Freedom, will be walking us through defining our mission, vision and values and figuring out where we go from here.
Syon Davis (they/she/he)
Strategic Planning Consultant
Georgia
Superpower: My superpower is building fun, emergent, + generative containers for folks to collaborate and do their best work within!
The Board of Directors
Officers
Anna Rupani (she/her)
President
Fund Texas Choice
Texas
Superpower: I have elephant memory.
Brooke Weber (she/her)
Treasurer
One for Democracy
California
Superpower: I'm good at logistics and planning. I can think ten steps ahead and prepare for various scenarios. I am also pretty good with a hula hoop.
Erin Case (she/her)
Secretary
Baltimore Abortion Fund
Maryland
Superpower: Finding short hikes with really awesome views.
Members
Odile Schalit
(she/her)*
New York
Superpower: I am an outstanding parallel parker!
Diana Parker Kafka (she/they)*
Midwest Access Coalition
Illinois
Superpower: I can complete every day of the NYT crossword.
Stephanie Loraine Piñeiro, MSW (she/her/ella)
Florida Access Network
Florida
Superpower: I’m great at nature photography (see photo above!).
*Apiary's co-founders