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SALT LAKE CITY — After 35 years at the helm, Planned Parenthood Association of Utah President and CEO Karrie Galloway is retiring.
Galloway — who joined Planned Parenthood in 1981 and became executive director in 1987 — announced her retirement in July 2022, but stayed on with the organization while it searched for a successor. Planned Parenthood announced Kathryn Boyd will take over as CEO beginning in May.
Galloway's retirement was effective Friday.
"I am thrilled to join (Planned Parenthood Association of Utah) at this critical time," Boyd stated. "Karrie Galloway was the heart and soul of (Planned Parenthood Association of Utah) for over 40 years. Stepping into this role as her successor is an honor and a privilege. Guiding the mission she tirelessly championed, I hope to continue her legacy. We have hard work ahead of us with threats to reproductive rights and bodily autonomy happening across the country. These threats make the mission of (Planned Parenthood Association of Utah) clear; we must work even harder to protect reproductive rights, justice, and equity and continue to provide compassionate, innovative sexual and reproductive health care and sex education to the people of Utah."
Galloway's departure comes at an uncertain time for Planned Parenthood. Since the Utah Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion, abortion access has been under fire from lawmakers, who recently approved a bill to effectively ban abortion clinics in the state.
Abortion remains legal in the state through 18 weeks of pregnancy, while the Utah Supreme Court considers a challenge to Utah's near-total abortion trigger law.
Planned Parenthood has said abortion makes up a small percentage of the services it provides, and promises to continue to offer a wide array of sexual and reproductive health services.
But leaders of the organization — including Galloway herself — have expressed confidence in Boyd's ability to steer the organization going forward.
"As I dreamed of this transition, I could not ask for a better successor than Kathryn Boyd," Galloway said. "(Planned Parenthood Association of Utah) has always been a solid force for reproductive services, education and advocacy in the state. The new president and CEO is willing and ready to join in the fight to protect our patients, use her voice as an advocate, and lead in the movement for reproductive freedom."
"Given the new challenges presented by the decline in reproductive rights nationally, and the uphill battle our movement faces locally, there couldn't be a better time to infuse new leadership and new energy into our organization," said Michael Ramon Aguilar, Planned Parenthood's board chairman. "While it certainly won't be easy, our fight is worth fighting because all Utahns deserve access to leading-edge comprehensive and compassionate reproductive health care."
Boyd has previously worked in a leadership role with Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, in Iowa, and most recently was the vice president of Operations for Carafem, a non-profit reproductive health care organization.
Sarah Stoesz was selected to serve as interim president and CEO between now and May, when Boyd will take the post. Stoesz previously served as the CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, serving Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska, for 21 years.
"I am excited to be temporarily filling the big shoes of Karrie Galloway as part of this important transition for (Planned Parenthood Association of Utah)," she said. "We are very fortunate to have such a strong new leader in Kathryn Boyd, and I look forward to welcoming her to this wonderful community."
