We are so grateful to Oriaku for their leadership as Executive Director of NNAF for the last two years. During Oriaku’s time as Executive Director, they supported the organization in navigating critical challenges, including the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision, several Supreme Court cases and state bans further threatening access to abortions, the voluntary recognition of our staff bargaining unit, and the negotiation of our first union contract.
As the co-founder and former leader of Access Reproductive Care (ARC) – SE, Oriaku brought invaluable expertise to NNAF and a deep commitment to abortion funds. The deep passion Oriaku brought for abortion funding showed in every interaction with them.
In moments of despair around the political climate, Oriaku’s grounding in the magic of being in abortion fund spaces brought much-needed hope.”
During the chaos of the abortion access landscape of the last few years, Oriaku frequently grounded the staff in the need for rest and renewal. They implemented several rest practices, including quarterly resets for staff so we could move at a manageable pace, a practice they brought over from ARC-SE. Their contributions have laid a strong foundation for the next era of our work. We are deeply grateful for her dedication and wish them all the best in their future endeavors.
Celebrating Oriaku
“Oriaku has always brought deep commitment to building leaderful organizations. She never micro-manages; rather, she listens deeply and makes space for people to bring their own expertise and style to the forefront.”
“‘Rest is resistance’ is something that Oriaku championed to ensure that we can sustain in this work and the movement as a whole.”
“Oriaku’s leadership contributed to major strategic policy work, focused on self-managed abortion and the future of abortion access.”
“Under Oriaku’s leadership, we’ve made strides to streamline the payment process to abortion funds in this network.”
“Oriaku has been instrumental in supporting abortion funds to be centered in national movement-building spaces. They have been a bold voice and continuous champion for abortion funds”
“Braiding joy, playfulness, and politics in repro justice—what a gift! Raising money for abortion, alongside Oriaku, felt right and values aligned. I am grateful for their leadership and their visions for a better world.”
“At one event, [Oriaku] literally got hundreds of people to scream “abortion” all at once—and that generated a kind of energy in the room that had people signing up to be more involved with their local fund, donating, and asking how they can help.”