Imagine…
a world where pregnant people can make confident, informed decisions about their birth plan; where a transgender person feels safe and respected seeking medical care; where families live in self-determined communities, free from surveillance and criminalization.
At Healthy & Free Tennessee, we believe reproductive justice is this reality that all Tennesseans deserve.
We tackle the overlapping issues of racism, the criminal legal system, and reproductive justice by working to improve and expand access to sexual and reproductive resources and support. We support our community by challenging discriminatory policies that target marginalized communities and push for policies that actually support families . This includes fighting the growing trend of criminalizing pregnancy outcomes and the increased surveillance, regulation, and punishment of financially struggling parents and parents of color by both state and societal institutions.
Our Approach:
We help to build strong relationships across different movements so that activists can collaborate across multiple sectors related to our cause. Every year, we track legislation related to the tenets of reproductive justice to keep our supporters informed through our Policy Watchlist, even hosting an advocacy day with legislators to make sure community member voices are heard. We educate policymakers, organizations, and the public through workshops and trainings. Plus, our Youth Leadership program works to develop and encourage the next generation of leaders to keep fighting for reproductive justice.
To put it plainly, we make sure all Tennesseans have access to the support systems needed to determine their reproductive futures, while also fighting against laws that punish people for choosing what’s right for their lives.
Origin Story
Founded in 2012, Healthy Free Tennessee (HFTN) got its start as the first statewide coalition focused on sexual health, reproductive rights, and justice in Tennessee. Starting with only 11 partner organizations, we’ve since become an independent organization expanding our work to include over 48 statewide, 13 national, and 270 individual partners, encouraging vital advocacy work and leading coalition building across the region.
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We grow the movement for reproductive justice across race, class, and gender by bringing new people into the movement, developing skills and capacities, and building connections across organizations and sectors. We push back against and dismantle existing systems of oppression, while utilizing creativity and innovation to
build new systems that meet the needs of the communities in Tennessee.
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We envision a joy-filled, abundant,
interdependent world in which all
people can thrive and be free from
oppression.We envision a world where everyone
has the space and autonomy to make
decisions for themselves and their
families within their communities.We seek to bring about a world that
values connection, safety, rest, and
pleasure, and that harmonizes with the earth.
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Policy & Advocacy: Each year we compile the state’s most comprehensive reproductive justice policy watchlist. We use our proactive and defensive legislative advocacy work to bolster grassroots organizing and to inform and activate our supporters.
Leadership Development: We are committed to building the next bench of reproductive justice leaders through our youth leadership council and programming and trainings that support young people.
Education & Analysis: We educate our communities, policymakers, and other social justice organizations through free trainings, workshops, and convenings.
Cross Movement Building & Alignment: We work at the intersections of reproductive justice, racial justice, and abolition to create opportunities for organizers and advocates to collaborate and build relationships across movements, pushing back on siloes.
About our logo
Healthy and Free Tennessee chose the Ocoee, or passion flower, as our logo because:
Ocoee is one of Tennessee’s state wildflowers. We wanted to pick a symbol that represents what’s at the heart of our place-based work: Tennessee and the thriving communities across the state.
We wanted to transition to a symbol that better reflects our mission statement and vision for Tennessee–commitment to harmony with our natural environment.
To us, the Ocoee flower symbolizes our journey toward decolonial feminism, which is the framework that forges material feminist solidarities through an examination of the relationship between gender and colonialism. Originally used by Tennessee’s native people for medicine, it was later renamed “passion flower” by missionaries. While Tennessee is often linked with white Christian nationalism, it’s also a place of resistance, rich culture, and deep-rooted fights for liberation—it’s our home.
Staff
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Judith Clerjeune, (She | Li [Haitian Kreyol ]), moun Fond-Des-Blanc, is a Black Haitian immigrant currently making home in Nashville, TN. Judith has called the South home since moving to the United States in 2004. Judith’s work is grounded in the hope and resolution that we can and must build another world, one free of the current death-dealing global racial capitalist system. Prior to her current role, Judith served on HFTN’s steering committee for 6 years. Judith has extensive background in Immigrant rights policy advocacy and previously was the Campaigns and Advocacy Director at Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, a tenure that she began as a Policy fellow in 2014. She holds a B.A. in History from Williams College and a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt Divinity School.
Contact: judith@healthyandfreetn.org
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Cory Roroya (she/her) is the Organizing Director at Healthy and Free Tennessee. A Nashville native, she draws inspiration from the love and support of her community. Her journey into sexual health advocacy was driven by a personal need for knowledge and shaped by experiences with limited resources. While serving in the Peace Corps in Fiji, Cory embraced new forms of community and collaboration, deepening her commitment to social justice back home in Tennessee. Influenced by her mother Jessica, a trailblazing union leader, and her great-grandmother Beatrice, who nurtured her love for art, music, and feminism, Cory's passion for change runs deep. For over a decade, she has worked to reshape conversations around sexual health and promote awareness, connection, and liberation from shame and stigma. In her free time, Cory enjoys making memories with her family, backyard bonfires with close friends, and tending to her front-yard farm.
Contact: cory@healthyandfreetn.org
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Nina (she/her) is the Policy and Education Director at Healthy and Free Tennessee. Nina is an organizer, educator, and policy nerd. Originally from outside of Philadelphia, PA, Nina has called Tennessee home for five years. During her time at Healthy and Free Tennessee, she has worked to pass multiple reproductive justice focused bills, introduced the state’s first reproductive justice focused legislative watchlist, and led our revamped statewide repro coalition and youth leadership council. Nina has worked in policy at local, state, federal, and international levels. She got her formal organizing start at Planned Parenthood of Southern New England where she was a Generation Action intern and member of the Youth Leadership Advisory Council. Nina earned her J.D. from Drexel University School of Law in 2019. In law school, she served as a legal intern for the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania and the National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women and volunteered with Project Safe, a harm reduction collective focused on the needs of street-based sex workers and substance users in Philadelphia. In 2016, Nina earned her B.A. in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Government from Wesleyan University.
Contact: nina@healthyandfreetn.org
Steering Committee
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Elise grew up in Shreveport, LA, where she completed a B.S. in Biology at Centenary College in 2014. After 2 years of working within the healthcare system and witnessing the impact of systemic inequality on people’s bodies and lives, Elise moved to Nashville in 2016 to pursue her M.Ed. in Community Development & Action at Vanderbilt University. Her experience navigating abortion access in Louisiana and passion for health equity prompted her to focus on community-based work in reproductive health. During this time, Elise collaborated with Planned Parenthood in Nashville and the Tennessee Stories Project on research and advocacy work related to reducing abortion stigma, comprehensive sex education, and access to reproductive health care. Elise continues to build upon this through her role on Healthy and Free Tennessee’s Steering Committee, and is committed to developing and supporting policies and practices that advance reproductive freedom in Tennessee.
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Coming soon
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Briana Perry has been connected to Healthy and Free Tennessee for over a decade, previously serving as the Executive Director. She graduated from Vanderbilt University with her B.A. in Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies in 2013. While a student, Briana developed a passion for Black feminism and community organizing, with a focus on reproductive freedom. After graduation, Briana taught English, science, and social studies in her hometown, Memphis. While teaching, she got involved in local organizing efforts around reproductive health, sexual assault awareness, and racial justice. Briana went on to attend Peabody College at Vanderbilt University and completed her Master of Education in Learning, Diversity, and Urban Studies in 2016. Briana has served on the advisory committee with the National Bailout Collective, the organization that supports the Black Mama's Bailout and was a founding member of the Official Black Lives Matter Memphis Chapter. Briana is a trained birth doula, conflict resolution mediator, transformative justice facilitator, and Circle keeper. Her interests include decolonial feminism, transformative justice, and reproductive justice and she has written extensively about the intersection of these frameworks and issues.
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Gavin Crowell-Williamson (he/him) grew up in Chicago, IL, moving to Nashville in 2019 to attend Vanderbilt University. Gavin has a BA in Psychology from Knox College and a M.Ed in Community Development and Action from Vanderbilt. During grad school, Gavin became involved with various types of justice work in Nashville, ultimately working for Nashville’s Community Oversight Board (COB) after graduation. At the COB, Gavin directed the department’s research and policy focus, spearheading multiple reports including a Policy Advisory Report on Sexual Misconduct and Trauma-Informed Victim Services. He now works at the Human Relations Commission, where he leads the city’s Title VI program and oversees language access research evaluating Metro Nashville’s provision of services to those who prefer to communicate in languages other than English.
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Representative Aftyn Behn is the Tennessee House of Representatives member serving House District 51. She's formerly the Campaign Director for RuralVote.org and RuralOrganizing.org, overseeing the organization's electoral strategy and execution, and shaping the political and policy landscape that impacts small towns and rural communities. Previously, she worked at the Indivisible Project as the Distributed Organizing Manager, building out national programs, including Indivisible's national rural program, one of the largest in the country. She also supported Indivisible's distributed network in long-term power building as the former senior regional organizer for Kentucky and Tennessee. Before Indivisible, she organized with the Tennessee Justice Center in 2017 during the national Medicaid and Affordable Care Act congressional fights. In 2016, she consulted with Switzerland's United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), developing community-based protection policies for special-interest refugee groups. Aftyn is from East Tennessee and received her MSW from the University of Texas at Austin Steve Hicks School of Social Work, specializing in public policy.
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Originally hailing from small-town Texas, Lauren (she/they) moved to Nashville in 2021 with her spouse, dog, and two cats to pursue an M.Ed. in Community Development and Action at Vanderbilt University. Lauren’s passion for fighting systemic injustice was first nurtured after witnessing the power of multi-racial community organizing efforts through working with tenants and organizers in Dallas to combat eviction notices and poor conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lauren became involved with Healthy and Free TN in 2022 to support education efforts and bill monitoring during the legislative session, further growing their organizing chops and knowledge of Reproductive Justice work in Tennessee. Since then, Lauren has worked in the basic needs space to make essential personal hygiene and period products more accessible for folks across Middle Tennessee. Through continued involvement with Healthy and Free TN as a Steering Committee member and volunteer with Abortion Care TN, they are committed to work that builds inclusive, accessible community-based networks of care for all people. In her spare time, Lauren loves to spend time with loved ones and her pets, listen to cds, tackle one of her ongoing craft projects, and get outside as much as possible!