Marcela Howell is the founder and executive director of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, the only national Black women’s RJ organization. The goal of In Our Own Voice is to lift up the voices of Black women leaders at the national, regional and state levels on policies that impact our lives.

Marcela has over 40 years of experience advocating for women’s rights, reproductive health and justice and women’s empowerment. Prior to founding In Our Own Voice, she served as senior policy and communications consultant for Communications Consortium for Media Change (CCMC). She is the former vice president of policy, communications and marketing at Advocates for Youth, a non-profit organization that works on adolescent sexual and reproductive health issues.

Marcela is the author of Walk in My Shoes: A Black Activist’s Guide to Surviving the Women’s Movement, a collection of inspirational essays to help young Black women navigate the women’s movement and empower them to become leaders in the fight for Reproductive Justice.