As we welcome Koeppl, we thank Nancy Utoft, as she retires, for her dedication and exceptional work at Abria during her two-year commitment as Executive Director, from April 2017 to March 2019. Utoft has guided Abria through a time of transition, including the merger with North Side Pregnancy Options, the relocation of the Northside Clinic to a new North Minneapolis location that is more accessible to clients and aligned with the Abria brand, plus the expansion of healthy relationship education programming through Life Edge Solutions. Koeppl will work alongside Utoft for the next few months as she is officially onboarded.

“I was discussing this opportunity with my husband and he just looked at me and said, ‘everything that you’ve been through and done in the past 30 years has prepared you for this role’. He put into words exactly how I feel: Abria’s life-affirming mission speaks to me on the deepest level and Abria’s approach aligns with my vision for empowering women in life-affirming decisions. We need to meet women where they are; reach them when they are faced with a decision and before they may even recognize themselves as a mother. We need to help women first or we can certainly not help their child,” said Koeppl.

Abria could not be more confident in our choice for our next Executive Director. Koeppl will draw on her deep commitment to life-affirming service and her extensive background in business, development and human resources management to leverage our two clinic locations in the urban core and continue Abria’s outreach in the community.

Here’s a little more about Koeppl:

• For the past seven years, Koeppl served as the President of Trondheim Advisory Group, LLC where she oversaw executive search and placement, candidate screening, support services for job seekers and human resources consulting.
• From 2006-2011, Koeppl worked as an executive recruiting consultant serving non-profit organizations in the Washington DC metro area, focused on memory care and housing for families facing medical crises.
• From 1999-2006, Koeppl focused her efforts on her growing family, supporting her husband through multiple military deployments and community volunteer efforts serving elders with memory loss and families with critically ill children.
• Prior to that, Koeppl played a strategic role with Kelly Services in the San Diego area, where she was responsible for business development, service delivery, customer and employee retention recruiting, placement and expense management to provide long-term onsite staffing for Hewlett Packard and Sempra Energy.

Koeppl begins her work at Abria by concentrating on key strategic projects, familiarizing herself with staff, volunteers, donors, and other partners, while working closely with Nancy to ensure a seamless transition. Koeppl’s experience as executive recruiter, business owner and corporate staffing consultant serving Fortune 500 companies gives her the skills necessary to help Abria meet the needs of today’s women and the demands they face in today’s contemporary society. Koeppl’s deep dedication to empowering women and affirming life, sparked though personal experience and spiritual reflection, has shaped Koeppl’s passion to lead Abria in our life-affirming mission.

The post Cindy Koeppl named Executive Director of Abria appeared first on Abria Pregnancy Resources.

This year’s event brought the Abria Life is Wonderful across the river to Minneapolis for the first time. Many participants said how much they enjoyed running and walking around beautiful Lake Harriet. We heard what you said and we’ve booked the location again for next year’s event. Please mark your calendars now for the 5th annual Abria Life is Wonderful event on Saturday, May 9, 2020 at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis.

If you didn’t get a chance to participate in the 2019 Life is Wonderful event, you can still join us in living out Abria’s mission. Visit our Support page for all the ways you can help us reach more local women, teens and couples make life-affirming choices.

2019 Life is Wonderful Photo Gallery

The post Thank you for making our Abria Life is Wonderful event a big success appeared first on Abria Pregnancy Resources.

While the number of abortions has fallen below 10,000 for the third time since 1975, the number of women coming from other states to Minnesota to have an abortion is growing. The number of abortions performed on women from other states increased from 938 in 2017 to 1,014 last year. That means that residents of other states received more than 10 percent of the abortions performed in Minnesota in 2018.

Another trend is the move toward more medicinal abortions, which accounted for 3,594 or 36 percent of all abortions in Minnesota in 2018. These statistics do not include numbers for “the morning after pill”, which can be purchased without a prescription and are not tracked by the state.

Abria is here to provide professional, medically-accurate, comprehensive information about all the options for women, teens and couples experiencing unexpected pregnancy. Our St. Paul location, across from the street from the largest abortion provider in Minnesota, and our Northside location in the county that is home to more than a third of the women who had abortions in Minnesota in 2018, position us to provide alternatives to those who believe abortion is their only option.

Help Abria put a choice for life within reach for more women, teens and couples and support us with a financial contribution today.

The post Minnesota Department of Health releases annual report on abortions in the state appeared first on Abria Pregnancy Resources.

I was desperate. I scheduled an abortion appointment for Thursday. I felt sick about it. I still needed to talk to someone. I found Abria online and called. I reached Hailey and we talked. I could tell from the warmth of her voice that Hailey really understood how much pain I was in and how conflicted I felt. I began to cry. Hailey asked me if I would like to meet with Marissa, an Abria client advocate who could help me. With relief, I said yes.

I met Marissa the next morning. We talked for more than two hours as I cried and poured out my fears about this pregnancy. I was terrified that I would lose my job and terrified that as an unmarried woman, I would bring great shame to my family. It seemed like everyone I had already spoken to about my pregnancy told me to have an abortion. But at Abria, people were different. Marissa listened carefully and asked me questions that helped me think about what was important to me. As I struggled with my thoughts, a clinic nurse offered me a chance to see my baby. When I saw the ultrasound image of my little child, I knew instantly what I wanted to do, what I needed to do.

At Abria, I felt like I could breathe. At Abria everyone was kind, listened, and asked questions – but never told me what to do. Of all the places I went to get advice, Abria was the only one that gave me hope. With the support of Hailey, Marissa, and everyone at Abria, I decided that I would bring my baby into this world!

At Abria we respect the dignity of every person we serve. We empower each woman and teen by providing her with information about all her options.

But at her most vulnerable moment, messages from abortion providers seem omnipresent.

By contributing to Abria, you will enable us to share Abria’s uplifting voice of hope. Our digital marketing campaign will help women and teens facing difficult decisions find our clinic and receive our love and support.

Your donation – large or small – is urgently needed to help women like Bea find Abria. Please give now.

*Client’s name is changed in this post to protect her privacy.

The post Bea’s story appeared first on Abria Pregnancy Resources.

It was incredible to witness our guests from both sides of the river, and throughout our area of Minnesota, come together as one body to support Abria’s work. We enjoyed the talents of T. Mychael Rambo, our amazing emcee who elevated our evening of song, stories and fellowship. We saw and heard from local women whose lives – and the lives of their children – have been changed and saved thanks to Abria’s services.

If you were unable to join us, or if you would like to offer more much-needed support, please consider contributing to Abria now. More than 95 percent of our funding comes from private donors like you. Donors like you make it possible for Abria to put a choice for life within reach for local women, teens and couples.

The post Thank you for making the 2019 Celebrate Life Gala a success! appeared first on Abria Pregnancy Resources.