Peoria Profile
Joyce Harant, Planned Parenthood
Except for the diverse jobs she performed for her parents’ small businesses growing up, Joyce Harant has always made health issues her career.
From the western suburbs of Chicago, she made her way to the University of Illinois, where she began as a pre-med student but graduated with a degree in physiology.
She completed her master’s degree in community health at the university several years later while working on a malaria research grant. As the war in Vietnam wound down and the funds for a malaria vaccine dried up, she put her MS to work with the West Central Illinois Health Systems Agency in Springfield, later becoming director of planning.
In 1979 Harant moved to Peoria to accept the position of president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Heart of Illinois, work which she continues today. "When I accepted the position, I was excited because I could be part of providing family planning, which is fundamental to families being healthy—both socially and economically—and that leads to healthy communities."
With her jam-packed schedule and high profile, Harant said there is no such thing as a typical day for her. "I often wonder if I will ever have a day where what I thought was going to happen actually happens," she joked. "Planned Parenthood is a small organization with about 30 employees and a 25-member board of directors. We provide health care, community education services, and advocate for reproductive rights. So as president, part of my job requires being the organizational leader—the voice and face of Planned Parenthood—a community representative, and an activist."
Part of her activist role includes working with diverse groups. "I’m involved in state- and national-level decisions about legislative strategy, lobbying in Springfield, Washington, D.C., and at home. I provide interviews to the media to inform the public on emerging issues in reproductive health, and help organize grass roots activists to ensure we don’t lose hard-won rights. An equally important part of my job is to connect with and support others in our community who share similar values and struggles—the women’s movement, civil rights, and human rights. It’s also important for me to work within the business, education, and religious community so they can better understand how Planned Parenthood can work with them, and how integral and important our services are to their employees and the community," she said.
The CEO aspect of her job means she oversees an often-lean administrative budget, and spends time planning programs, reporting on grant writing, working with human resources, and fundraising.
Harant said each day involves balancing many different internal and external issues—some of which are impossible to predict. "Like when a staff member brings an anthrax threat letter into my office, or the electricity goes out, and our health center has 20 people scheduled, or a major Supreme Court decision is issued that could cause us to give up one-third of the federal Title X family planning funding."
Planned Parenthood in Peoria was founded in 1965, 50 years after family planning pioneer Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control center in New York City.
The organization became a United Way agency in 1969, and they received federal funds in the late 1960s which allowed them to expand services to Carver Center and Harrison Homes, with supply centers at Friendship House, Common Place, and the Boys Club.
Harant said Planned Parenthood currently has four health centers through which they provide more than 16,458 medical visits for primary reproductive health and have more than 8,368 contacts through community sexuality education and counseling services.
In addition to gynecological care and counseling about health-related issues and sexuality decision making, Harant said Planned Parenthood provides community sexuality educational programs for schools, youth groups, and with parents. "We also have two comprehensive after-school youth development programs at Glen Oak Primary and White Middle School. People of all ages use our services. Nationally we know one out of four women of reproductive age has been helped by a Planned Parenthood service."
The mission of Planned Parenthood is simple, Harant said: "To assure reproductive self-determination through the provision of health care, education, and advocacy. Women and men making their own responsible reproductive choices is essential for women’s self-determination and ultimately the economic stability and health of children and families."
Harant said she knows a certain amount of controversy follows her job and the organization she works for. "To me, the irony of those who oppose reproductive choice is if Planned Parenthood could achieve its mission, we would have women and men making conscious choices of when to have children. They would take responsibility for preventing unintended pregnancy, and we would reduce the need for abortion."
Harant said she never planned to become involved in the reproductive rights movement, but she was always interested in women’s rights and equality. "I’m lucky because I found a life’s work that’s consistent with my values and has enabled me to positively focus the passion I’ve developed for ensuring women’s progress and empowerment continues in this country and throughout the world."
While most people face challenges in their work, few face the threat of violence day in and day out. "When year after year, a small minority of people escalate their attacks on those who want to exercise reproductive choices, my greatest challenge is to keep my passion but not to get so angry that I give away control of my actions. I know if that were to happen, they would win," Harant said.
She routinely braves new experiences—Harant ran for Congress in 2000, challenging a 20-year incumbent—in her quest for the next goal. "The important thing to me has been to never stop challenging myself or growing intellectually and gaining inner confidence. For me, looking at past accomplishments is only useful if you use them to figure out how they will help you overcome your next hurdle."
Harant said depending on the kind of day she’s having, she envisions two different futures for Planned Parenthood, but she knows which future she prefers. "On a good day, I’ll tell you we’ll find the resources to reach out and educate the public, to continue to expand reproductive and family planning services, and ultimately, to have all pregnancies be intended." TPW
From the western suburbs of Chicago, she made her way to the University of Illinois, where she began as a pre-med student but graduated with a degree in physiology.
She completed her master’s degree in community health at the university several years later while working on a malaria research grant. As the war in Vietnam wound down and the funds for a malaria vaccine dried up, she put her MS to work with the West Central Illinois Health Systems Agency in Springfield, later becoming director of planning.
In 1979 Harant moved to Peoria to accept the position of president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Heart of Illinois, work which she continues today. "When I accepted the position, I was excited because I could be part of providing family planning, which is fundamental to families being healthy—both socially and economically—and that leads to healthy communities."
With her jam-packed schedule and high profile, Harant said there is no such thing as a typical day for her. "I often wonder if I will ever have a day where what I thought was going to happen actually happens," she joked. "Planned Parenthood is a small organization with about 30 employees and a 25-member board of directors. We provide health care, community education services, and advocate for reproductive rights. So as president, part of my job requires being the organizational leader—the voice and face of Planned Parenthood—a community representative, and an activist."
Part of her activist role includes working with diverse groups. "I’m involved in state- and national-level decisions about legislative strategy, lobbying in Springfield, Washington, D.C., and at home. I provide interviews to the media to inform the public on emerging issues in reproductive health, and help organize grass roots activists to ensure we don’t lose hard-won rights. An equally important part of my job is to connect with and support others in our community who share similar values and struggles—the women’s movement, civil rights, and human rights. It’s also important for me to work within the business, education, and religious community so they can better understand how Planned Parenthood can work with them, and how integral and important our services are to their employees and the community," she said.
The CEO aspect of her job means she oversees an often-lean administrative budget, and spends time planning programs, reporting on grant writing, working with human resources, and fundraising.
Harant said each day involves balancing many different internal and external issues—some of which are impossible to predict. "Like when a staff member brings an anthrax threat letter into my office, or the electricity goes out, and our health center has 20 people scheduled, or a major Supreme Court decision is issued that could cause us to give up one-third of the federal Title X family planning funding."
Planned Parenthood in Peoria was founded in 1965, 50 years after family planning pioneer Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control center in New York City.
The organization became a United Way agency in 1969, and they received federal funds in the late 1960s which allowed them to expand services to Carver Center and Harrison Homes, with supply centers at Friendship House, Common Place, and the Boys Club.
Harant said Planned Parenthood currently has four health centers through which they provide more than 16,458 medical visits for primary reproductive health and have more than 8,368 contacts through community sexuality education and counseling services.
In addition to gynecological care and counseling about health-related issues and sexuality decision making, Harant said Planned Parenthood provides community sexuality educational programs for schools, youth groups, and with parents. "We also have two comprehensive after-school youth development programs at Glen Oak Primary and White Middle School. People of all ages use our services. Nationally we know one out of four women of reproductive age has been helped by a Planned Parenthood service."
The mission of Planned Parenthood is simple, Harant said: "To assure reproductive self-determination through the provision of health care, education, and advocacy. Women and men making their own responsible reproductive choices is essential for women’s self-determination and ultimately the economic stability and health of children and families."
Harant said she knows a certain amount of controversy follows her job and the organization she works for. "To me, the irony of those who oppose reproductive choice is if Planned Parenthood could achieve its mission, we would have women and men making conscious choices of when to have children. They would take responsibility for preventing unintended pregnancy, and we would reduce the need for abortion."
Harant said she never planned to become involved in the reproductive rights movement, but she was always interested in women’s rights and equality. "I’m lucky because I found a life’s work that’s consistent with my values and has enabled me to positively focus the passion I’ve developed for ensuring women’s progress and empowerment continues in this country and throughout the world."
While most people face challenges in their work, few face the threat of violence day in and day out. "When year after year, a small minority of people escalate their attacks on those who want to exercise reproductive choices, my greatest challenge is to keep my passion but not to get so angry that I give away control of my actions. I know if that were to happen, they would win," Harant said.
She routinely braves new experiences—Harant ran for Congress in 2000, challenging a 20-year incumbent—in her quest for the next goal. "The important thing to me has been to never stop challenging myself or growing intellectually and gaining inner confidence. For me, looking at past accomplishments is only useful if you use them to figure out how they will help you overcome your next hurdle."
Harant said depending on the kind of day she’s having, she envisions two different futures for Planned Parenthood, but she knows which future she prefers. "On a good day, I’ll tell you we’ll find the resources to reach out and educate the public, to continue to expand reproductive and family planning services, and ultimately, to have all pregnancies be intended." TPW