NARAL Names New President

January 15, 2013 — NARAL Pro-Choice America on Monday named Ilyse Hogue as its new president, Politico reports (Smith, Politico, 1/14).

Hogue will replace Nancy Keenan, who announced last year that she would be stepping down after eight years. In an interview with the Washington Post at the time, Keenan said, "It's time for a new leader to come in and, basically, be the person for the next 40 years of protecting reproductive choice."

Hogue's Background

Hogue is the former director of political advocacy and communications for MoveOn.org. She also co-founded the Friends of Democracy Super PAC, a campaign finance reform group, and was a senior adviser to the media watchdog group Media Matters for America (Bassett, Huffington Post, 1/14).

Hogue is known for "a fiery, uncompromising tone on abortion rights and other progressive causes," according to Politico. She is a frequent contributor to The Nation, where she has addressed topics such as former Rep. Todd Akin's (R-Mo.) comments on rape and abortion (Politico, 1/14).

"This is a critical moment to engage a new generation of young people in the conversation about what choice means in a modern age," Hogue said in a statement (Baker, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 1/14).

NARAL has more than one million members and has affiliates in 23 states (Huffington Post, 1/14).