By: 2026 Comunicador Nikki Frias
Growing up, I watched my mom spend her free time helping friends and family translate documents, fill out applications and understand complicated processes. She was always there to help, and without realizing it, she showed me the importance of caring for others and giving back to my community. Watching her inspired my interest in advocacy from an early age. This summer, through Comunicadores for the Future and my internship with Reproductive Freedom for All, I’ve had the opportunity to take the first steps in a career centered on serving others.
I start every morning by checking my inbox and reviewing press clips mentioning Reproductive Freedom for All, midterm election updates, congressional rulings, state chapter news and actions taken by the current administration. While it may seem like a routine task, it has helped me understand just how deeply the news can affect people’s lives — sometimes in ways they may not immediately recognize.
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that reproductive freedom can be impacted even when abortion is not the headline. Policies related to parental leave, access to mifepristone, insurance coverage for IVF and prenatal care all shape people’s ability to make decisions about their health and futures. Reproductive Freedom for All works to educate and mobilize individuals while holding lawmakers accountable for decisions that affect reproductive rights.
As an undergraduate student hoping to become a lawyer, I used to think that changing the law was the most important step toward protecting people. Through my experience with Reproductive Freedom for All, I’ve learned that legal rights and real-world access are not always the same thing. A right may exist on paper, but that does not guarantee that everyone can benefit from it equally.
One of my regular responsibilities is preparing interview briefing memos for members of the team before they speak with reporters about breaking news, court decisions or upcoming elections. Each memo includes recent media coverage, background information and key talking points. Working on these materials has helped me see the gap between policy decisions and people’s lived experiences. Reproductive Freedom for All not only recognizes that gap but also works to help people understand it and become part of the effort to close it.
On the four-year anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court decision that eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion, I got to see Reproductive Freedom for All’s work up close. From door-to-door canvassing and phone banking to public events and community outreach, it gave me a deeper understanding of what effective advocacy looks like. I learned that it depends on three things: education, representation and mobilization. These three elements are deeply connected. People cannot take action on issues they do not understand. Representation is impossible when people’s stories are left out of the conversation. And information alone does not create change without action behind it. Reproductive Freedom for All brings all three together to help build a more informed and engaged movement.
This internship has reinforced my interest in pursuing a career in public interest law while introducing me to parts of advocacy work that I had never fully considered before. Most importantly, working alongside such passionate and supportive people has shown me how crucial it is that no one is left to navigate complex challenges on their own.
Nikki Frias is a rising sophomore at The George Washington University, majoring in international affairs and business. She is a Cisneros Scholar and a 2026 Comunicadores for the Future intern at Reproductive Freedom for All.
