Meet the Team
As members of marginalized communities, we find ourselves equipt to do the necessary work of centering and working with the people most left out of reproductive care. We’re committed to the necessary work of unpacking our own bias in pursuit of equitable access.
kimika ross
she/they
Co-founder and Co-Executive Director
kimika is a Black, Queer, Feminist dedicated to advancing racial and reproductive justice. As a passionate HR professional, community and political organizer, she believes in embodying and living out your values and working for the benefit and advancement of Black, Indigenous and communities of color everywhere. She received an undergraduate degree from Northeastern University and a Master’s in Public Policy from Simmons University. Originally from Georgia, kimika has past the last 15 years in New England where they spend obscene amounts of time drinking coffee, reading and playing with their fur babies!
feyla mcnamara
she/they
Co-founder and Co-Executive Director
feyla mcnamara (Mohawk/Mi’kmaw) is a queer parent committed to the core values of reproductive justice: that it is our right to choose if and when we birth children, and our right to nurture children in safe and healthy environments. feyla is fiercely dedicated to approaching abortion funding holistically, and dreams of physical spaces throughout our communities where we can offer abortions and other reproductive health services, childcare, healthy food options, and education.
feyla entered movement spaces as a student organizer for the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in the early 2000s. She feels blessed to have been mentored by a badass group of Queer and BIPOC leaders who validated her thinking on oppressive systems through the lens of intersectionality; feyla swears these opportunities as a teenager saved her life. These experiences are foundational to how she views the world, with an emphasis on amplifying the voices of young people to create lasting change.
She enjoys reading to her family, binge watching television shows the rest of the world has already seen, and beading. She lives in Holyoke, MA where she can be found outside going “This is nice.”
Kelli Early
he/they
Director of Fundraising and Community Development
Kelli is a southerner who comes to Tides with roots in abortion funding, non-profit fundraising, and political campaign development. Kelli’s ardor for reproductive justice work stems from his own abortion story and their time working for grassroots nonprofits that advance health equity, abortion access, as well as voting rights. In 2015, Kelli began working with reproductive advocacy organizations to promote abortion storytelling and to distribute stigma-free sex education on college campuses. This experience would lead Kelli to lobbying in Washington D.C., hosting abortion storytelling events, and taking calls at abortion funds for over 7 years to date.
During their time volunteering at abortion funds, they have heard firsthand the barriers to abortion that people face. Kelli has also seen the beauties, and struggles, faced by people working within health access. At Tides, he dreams of building campaigns and collaborations that empower people seeking care, and support the leadership of those working towards reproductive justice.
Cara Callahan
she/her
Co-founder and Director of Intake
Cara is a lifelong supporter of abortion and bodily autonomy. She is an abortion story teller and fierce advocate for reproductive justice. Cara spent a decade working for Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts where she reshaped and reimagined how abortion funds could show up for patients. Cara was given the Shannon Lowney award for compassionate care in 2017 and again in 2022. Cara was an integral part of the organizing and winning of the election campaign for PPLM’s unionization with SEIU 1199. She sat on the bargaining committee for 7 months before departing to work for Tides full time. Cara dreams of a world where abortion funds are no longer needed but in the meantime her work with Tides aims to ensure that no one is ever turned away from abortion services due to an inability to pay.
She's been features several times in press, including:
Meet Our Board
The Board of Directors is composed of Massachuestts residents from across the state. Board members are responsible for the strategic visioning & governance of Tides with the support of the Co-Directors & staff.
The board meets monthly & is a commitment of about 5 - 10 hours a month. Tides’ covers the cost of travel, lodging & family care to support members in their work.
Interested in joining our board? Apply here!
The Board seeks members with experience in legal compliance and communications.
Heather Kho
they/any pronouns
Heather is a first generation queer FilAm committed to advocating for reproductive rights for all and believes in a world with accessible, affordable health care, including abortion services. They are a certified health education specialist with a long history working in health care as an LPN and presently a clinical informatics analyst at a health care center that provides gender affirming care for Massachusetts residents.
They currently live south of Boston and enjoys anime, manga and dungeons and dragons in their free time. They may or may not look exactly like they are pictured here.
Amanda Kennedy
she/her
Amanda (she/her) joins the board as its Clerk. She is a passionate defender of abortion and reproductive justice. As the daughter of lesbian women who conceived her through artificial insemination, she believes all people deserve the ability to determine when or if they have children, and deserve support for their family creation. Amanda is a college professor, with a PhD in Sociology. Her research interests include doulas and maternal mortality, body modification, and feminist pornography. She teaches classes on gender, medicine, covid-19, reproductive autonomy, and poverty. Amanda is also involved in her home community of Waltham, doing work with Food Not Bombs, Waltham Gender Justice, and supporting progressive candidates. She lives with her platonic partner and their small (but ferocious) rescue pup. And when she isn’t teaching, fighting fascism, or relaxing with family and partners, you can find Amanda in her garden growing native pollinator plants, pulling invasive species, and harvesting veggies.
Cedar Robideaux
she/her
Cedar is an Indigenous parent living in the Pioneer Valley who has had a strong passion for reproductive justice from a young age. She believes in holistic and intersectional approaches to reproductive justice as well as the importance of reproductive justice in decolonization. She is excited to work with Tides and is fiercely dedicated to Tides work and mission.
Taylor Halliday
she/her
Taylor's bio coming soon!