Nominated by: Julie Burkhart, President of Wellspring Health Access, Co-Owner of Hope Clinic, and reproductive rights advocate
Age: 31
Location: Chicago
Louisa Richardson-Deppe became chief operating officer of Chicago’s Hope Clinic, an abortion clinic focused on second and third trimester care, after five years as a volunteer case manager with the Chicago Abortion Fund. That’s not to count the additional five years she spent helping inform and prepare voters for elections at BallotReady, a source for nonpartisan election information.
“As the chief operating officer of Hope Clinic Chicago, Louisa is the essential link between our abortion clinic and the communities we serve across Illinois and beyond. She is a dedicated leader whose operational oversight helps keep our doors open and ensures our patients get the care they need.
Louisa is a passionate advocate for reproductive rights; before she joined Hope Clinic, she was a longtime volunteer for the Chicago Abortion Fund. She is a shining example of the behind-the-scenes workers who provide the logistical backbone for clinics like ours nationwide. We are so lucky to have her!” —Julie Burkhart
Julie Burkhart: What inspired you to get involved in reproductive healthcare?
Louisa Richardson-Deppe: I am passionate about reproductive justice because I have had the privilege of always managing my reproductive future on my own terms. This kind of bodily autonomy—access to the life you want to live—is something everyone deserves. Accurate sex education, affordable birth control, and accessible, safe abortion care throughout pregnancy are all essential components of reproductive healthcare.
Like many, I was shocked by the 2016 presidential election and scared about the future of reproductive healthcare. Inspired by a friend’s suggestion, I became a volunteer case manager with the Chicago Abortion Fund (CAF). Five years of case management taught me that every abortion story is singular. It also opened my eyes to the absurd maze of challenges that abortion seekers face in the United States: not just appointment costs and battling stigma, but all the logistical components including travel, lodging, and paying for food and childcare while away from home.
Being a CAF volunteer led me to apply to a position at Hope Clinic. A year ago I was hired to help open the second Hope Clinic location, here in Chicago. We started seeing patients in June 2025!
Burkhart: What do you find most rewarding about helping patients access abortion care in Chicago?
Richardson-Deppe: It is no small thing to have good news to share in 2026. And Hope Clinic Chicago is good news: we provide expanded access to abortion care later in pregnancy in an accessible city with support from a deep network of partners. Patients are proactively asked about their financial and logistical needs by our fantastic Patient Navigator, who coordinates funding and practical support.
I love working at Hope because it serves as a model of how the world truly could be: a place where there is time for complex conversations and big decisions, where bodily autonomy is respected, and where individuals can make their own unique decisions about pregnancy and parenting. What is most rewarding for me is knowing that patients in our care are being supported by truly amazing clinic staff members who create that dignified, compassionate reality every day.
Burkhart: Why do you think it’s important that young people get involved in advocacy work?
Richardson-Deppe: The state of Illinois is currently receiving the highest number of out of state abortion seekers in the country: about 1 out of every 4 people who need to cross state lines for abortion care will come here. The state’s capacity to provide care for this influx of patients has been built by an incredible reproductive justice ecosystem that includes not just clinics but abortion funds, political advocacy and practical support organizations, abortion storytellers, and government allies from city to state levels of leadership.
Illinois was not always the beacon of hope for reproductive justice that it is today. Thanks to advocacy from all of those different players, political and cultural sentiments have shifted, state legislation has changed, and clinics like Hope have received the support that makes our work possible. Advocacy can take many forms: going to a lobby day at your state capitol, signing a witness slip for proposed legislation, talking to friends and family about issues that are important to you, or meeting your elected representatives. It is an essential piece of the Illinois abortion access story.
Burkhart: What is your advice to someone who wants to get involved with efforts to expand reproductive rights?
Richardson-Deppe: One: There is a place for everyone in this fight, regardless of your personal background or skills. I did volunteer case management because I knew I liked talking on the phone! Abortion funds need volunteers to send clinic vouchers, host fundraisers, and manage spreadsheets. Political advocacy organizations need folks to do legislative research, stamp envelopes, and lead phone banks during election season. Clinics need staff members and doctors, but also supportive neighboring businesses, clinic escorts, and so much more! Even in states that still have protected abortion access, there is always more that can be done to safeguard existing rights, strengthen coalitions and cross-organization solidarity, and build an even better future.
Two: The most useful way to be involved may not feel like the “coolest” way. People often want an opportunity where they directly interact with patients, but those positions require more time, trust, and training (patients are not there to make you feel good about your volunteer gig!). Get comfortable learning about what the organizations in your community need and fitting in where you can be useful. At the end of the day, money is often the most useful thing. Fundraisers are always helpful!
Burkhart: What motivates you to show up for your community in a moment when abortion access faces so many challenges?
Richardson-Deppe: It’s critically important to recognize that none of the current attacks on reproductive access are truly new, though they shapeshift in how they manifest and who they target. Marginalized communities of all sorts—Southerners, Black communities and other communities of color, disabled people, queer and trans folks, and so many others—have creatively and courageously resisted attacks on bodily autonomy for far longer than this presidency, decade, or century. Prior to the 2022 Dobbs Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion access was already severely restricted in many states, and those communities were finding ways to connect people to the healthcare they needed. We have a lot to learn from those histories. I’m grounded by the deep awareness that people have provided abortion care to each other with ingenuity and grace for all of human history, and that is not going to stop. As writer and abolitionist Mariame Kaba says, “Hope is a discipline.”
This feature is part of CULTURED’s 2026 Young Activists list, spotlighting those around the country working to champion the causes closest to them. Each is nominated and interviewed by a leader in their field. You can read each of their features here.
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