(Alyce) Faye Wattleton

Wattleton was only the second woman to serve as president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America since Margaret Sanger founded the organization in 1942. Wattleton earned a nursing degree from Ohio State University in 1964. Later, while pursuing her master's degree in maternal and infant care at Columbia University, she became an active supporter of abortion rights. She was chosen to head Planned Parenthood in 1978 and served in that post until 1992. In 1995, she co-founded the Center for the Advancement of Women (formerly the Center for Gender Equality), dedicated to advancing equality for women, and currently serves as its president. Her efforts have had a significant impact on the expansion of reproductive health-care services in the United States.