Celebrating Tara Romano’s Leadership and Advocacy
We are proud to congratulate Tara Romano, Executive Director of Pro-Choice North Carolina, on being selected as the recipient of the Movement Leadership Award from the ACLU of North Carolina as part of its 60th Anniversary celebration.
The Movement Leadership Award honors North Carolinians who exemplify the spirit of collective action—those who build bridges across movements, challenge systemic injustice, and expand freedom for all people. Through their leadership, awardees help sustain the momentum for equity, dignity, and democracy across our state.
At the event, Liz Barber, Policy and Advocacy Director at ACLU-NC, introduced Tara by noting her “lifelong commitment to lighting the path toward freedom, justice, and lasting change in North Carolina.” Liz highlighted Tara’s ability to build bridges across reproductive, gender, racial, and economic justice, calling her “a rock for so many of us” and praising her leadership not just for today, but “for the generations who will come after us.”
Since joining Pro-Choice North Carolina in 2016, Tara has brought decades of commitment to reproductive, gender, racial, and economic justice. Before taking on PCNC’s leadership, she spent nearly ten years on the board of NC Women United—four of those as president—where she led efforts to advance gender-equitable policy and integrate reproductive justice into broader equity frameworks.
Her influence reaches far beyond the organization. Tara has been a consistent and influential voice in North Carolina’s shifting reproductive policy landscape—reflecting and shaping the ongoing struggle for bodily autonomy, equitable access to care, and reproductive freedom. She has played a critical role in organizing around the state’s evolving abortion laws, helping communities understand and respond to attacks on reproductive rights.
In her remarks, Tara reflected on how she first entered this work in the late 1990s as a volunteer supporting English literacy and answering crisis lines. She began hearing people say, “I want to leave this situation, but I can’t find housing… I can’t afford childcare… I can’t get the care I need.” That experience revealed to her that “individual stories are shaped by systems, and systems can be changed.”
She shared that this realization pulled her into policy work and ultimately into two decades of advocacy in the North Carolina General Assembly. “For better or worse, I’ve been going to the General Assembly for 20 years,” she said. “I’ve seen how policy can shape people’s lives.”
The ACLU of North Carolina describes Tara’s contribution this way:
“She has worked alongside grassroots activists to expand abortion access, elevate the voices of survivors, and advance policies rooted in equity. Through decades of organizing, Tara has built powerful coalitions. Her leadership continues to inspire collective action that moves North Carolina closer to freedom and justice for all.”
This award is especially meaningful as part of the ACLU’s 60-year celebration—a moment of reflection and recommitment to civil liberties in our state.
Left to right: Tara Romano, Executive Director, Pro-Choice NC; Dr. Jenna Beckham, President, ACLU-NC Board of Directors and Chair, Pro-Choice North Carolina Foundation Board of Directors
Tara’s work has been characterized by inclusivity, coalition building, and courage: bringing together diverse partners, centering those most impacted by reproductive injustice, and advancing systemic change rather than relying on short-term fixes. From her writing in advocacy platforms—where she has explored issues such as pregnant worker protections and the intersection of gender, race, and economic justice—to her organizational leadership, she embodies movement leadership in every sense.
She closed her acceptance speech with a message grounded in gratitude and hope: “I wouldn’t be who I am in this movement without the people in this room. And I am so excited — so excited — to keep doing this work together.”
A Message of Gratitude and Inspiration
On behalf of Pro-Choice North Carolina and our community, we offer immense gratitude to Tara for her unwavering commitment, strategic leadership, and vision of a North Carolina in which all people—regardless of income, race, gender identity, or geography—have the right to reproductive freedom and healthcare justice.
We look forward to celebrating her achievement, to continuing to support her and Pro-Choice North Carolina's vital work, and to walking alongside her as the fight for justice deepens and expands.
Congratulations, Tara, and thank you for showing us what bold, inclusive leadership looks like in action.
