Diversity Advocate Mini Timmaraju is First Woman of Color to Lead One of Country’s Most Powerful Abortion Rights Groups

Indian American Mini Timmaraju has been named the first woman of color to lead NARAL Pro-Choice America, one of the country’s most powerful abortion rights groups. 

We are delighted to share with you that @mintimm will be the next president of NARAL. https://t.co/bQ5qy14sBK #WelcomeToNARALMini pic.twitter.com/MrqL1RBjAA

— NARAL (@NARAL) November 4, 2021

NARAL says Timmaraju’s appointment “comes at a moment when the constitutional right to abortion is in unprecedented jeopardy as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade in less than a month. Just three days ago, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two separate cases about Texas’ vigilante-enforced abortion ban, which remains in effect, rendering Roe essentially meaningless in the second largest state in the country.”

NARAL Board Chair Anna Burger said in a press release announcing the appointment that Timmaraju is “the leader to guide NARAL into its next chapter,” She said everyone at the organization was “captivated by her vision for our organization’s future and her deep commitment to equity.”

A first-generation immigrant from India, Timmaraju served as an advisor for the Biden administration on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. She was the national women’s vote director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. She also served as a chief of staff to Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) and as a district director for former Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas.) 

“Congratulations to @mintimm. my former Chief of Staff, for becoming the next @NARAL President,” Rep. Bear tweeted. “Mini and NARAL will be important partners in the fight to protect women’s access to reproductive health care, which is under attack from politicians across the country.”

Congratulations to @mintimm, my former Chief of Staff, for becoming the next @NARAL President!

Mini and NARAL will be important partners in the fight to protect women's access to reproductive health care, which is under attack from politicians across the country. https://t.co/TCbR5UTnL6

— Ami Bera, M.D. (@RepBera) November 4, 2021

On Clinton’s campaign, she served as Hillary for America’s National Women’s Vote Director, leading the historic campaign’s planning and implementation of its strategy to maximize women’s participation in the election. This involved engaging with a variety of stakeholders—members of Congress, donors, advocacy groups, volunteers, and the media— to mobilize grassroots support.

She most recently served as an executive director on the Diversity and Inclusion team for Comcast NBCUniversal, based out of their corporate headquarters in Philadelphia. She was previously on the external affairs team where she served as a liaison between Comcast and external stakeholders including advocacy organizations, political organizations, and public policy groups.

Her other professional experience includes various roles with Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), including director of PPFA’s Office of the President. During her early career, she held a number of leadership positions in state and local political organizations in South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Texas and New Delhi, India.

“I’ve long admired NARAL Pro-Choice America as a political powerhouse that builds power at the state and national level and reaches key constituencies,” Timmaraju said in a statement after her Nov. 4 appointment. “Right now, it is imperative that we elect champions for reproductive freedom and hold accountable those who are trying to roll back abortion access, while centering the communities who bear the brunt of the anti-choice movement’s cruel attacks on reproductive freedom.” She replaces Ilyse Hogue, who stepped down as NARAL president in May after leading the organization for eight years.

She told the 19th, an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting at the intersection of gender, politics and policy, that she has worked at the intersection of race and gender, a unique perspective that is core to her leadership strategy. The United States hasn’t seen this level of abortion restrictions since 1973, Timmaraju told the 19th. “Attacks on reproductive freedom have been a steady drip since Roe v. Wade,” she said, adding, “Now, almost 50 years later, we’re back to some of the same fundamental attacks.” She continued: “We can’t be naive. We have to understand that this is going to be devastating, in particular to the most underserved groups, including people of color, immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community.” 

Timmaraju received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California-Berkeley and completed her J.D. at the University of Houston Law Center where she was the recipient of the Joan Garfinkle Glantz award for outstanding work in the field of civil rights and the Class of 1999 Distinguished Service Award. She resides in Philadelphia with her husband and two children.