Planned Parenthood president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson is a self-described “movement baby.” Her parents fought for racial equality during the civil rights movement, and as an adult, she led campaigns that used pop culture to civically engage young voters. Even though she credited her success to the women who raised her, she wasn’t thinking much about the role of women in social justice issues. Then she walked by a billboard in SoHo depicting the dire state of reproductive health care for Black women. It quickly became all she could think about. 

In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Alexis shares: 


Her go-to bagel order as a certified Jersey girl 

The biggest lesson her mom taught her about  community organizing

Why a Princeton professor thanked her after she called out his racial prejudice

How she finds time to plan for the future of the org with so much uncertainty 

Her secret to getting people to see her perspective on politicized issues like abortion