Hope Clinic

New Ownership Team Announcement!

It is with great excitement that Hope Clinic announces a NEW ownership team effective 6/1/2022!

Hope Clinic was founded in 1974 by Dr. Hector Zevallos and for over 47 years has served not only this region but the entire Midwest with high-quality, compassionate abortion care. The legacy of Dr. Zevallos and his dedication to abortion access will carry on at Hope Clinic through this new team of owners.

The new owners are fiercely committed to continuing the critical mission of Hope Clinic and will continue to push forward to expand abortion access here in this key Illinois location. This change in ownership comes at a time of great upheaval and uncertainty about what the next several months and years will hold for abortion care in this country. This new ownership team recognizes that and is stepping up to make sure Hope Clinic successfully navigates through this significant historical time. They see Hope Clinic already doing great work and are excited to support and promote the team.

Please welcome the new owner team: Julie Burkhart, Kathy Dean, and Chelsea Souder, MPH.

Get to know the new owners Julie, Kathy, and Chelsea:

Julie Burkhart

Julie is the Founder and President of Wellspring Health Access that is presently opening a clinic in Wyoming. Ms. Burkhart is also the Founder of Trust Women and was at the helm as its CEO for twelve years. She built Trust Women from her kitchen table into a $5M organization. There, she built two abortion clinics from the ground up, as well as overseeing the acquisition of a third reproductive health care clinic. Ms. Burkhart worked side-by-side with Dr. George Tiller for seven years. Ms. Burkhart now continues Dr. Tiller’s vision for reproductive justice through Wellspring. Before working for Dr. Tiller, Ms. Burkhart was at ground zero during the infamous Summer of Mercy in 1991. She worked at the Wichita Women’s Center, which was heavily targeted by Operation Rescue, the Lambs of Christ and other anti-choice extremists. Driven by political justice, she went on to manage a number of political campaigns in Washington State as well as work for the Washington State Democratic Party and the Washington Senate Democratic Campaign Committee. She holds a bachelor's and master's in political science. Julie is married, with a lovely daughter, her partner and grandson, as well as two dogs and two cats.

Kathy Dean

Kathy lives in Omaha, Nebraska and has been advocating for abortion access for over 40 years! Kathy has over 10 years of experience in direct service with survivors of domestic violence. She has previous experience working in an Indie doing accounting, bookkeeping, scheduling appointments, and patient check in. She has also volunteered with local abortion funds and focused in executing fundraisers. Kathy has 5 grandchildren, a retired vet husband, a husky (Zoey) and loves camping! She is excited to join the team at Hope and continue to work to ensure equitable access to abortion care for all.

Chelsea Souder, MPH

Chelsea is motivated to help create a world where people can plan their families as they see fit, including to have or not have children, and to parent them in safe and healthy environments with equitable access to healthcare regardless of race, socioeconomic status, class, or zip code. She has a Master’s in Public Health, specializing in Maternal and Child Health. She has professional and academic experience in delivery of reproductive healthcare and advocating for survivors of violence. She has sat on boards for abortion and LGBTQ+ healthcare and she has contributed to multiple publications on abortion access delivery of care. She currently sits on the board of Nebraska Religious Coalition for Reproductive Freedom and is a member of the Abortion Care Network’s Racial Justice and Equity committee. She is the Founder and Director of Nebraska Abortion Resources (NEAR), Nebraska’s only state wide abortion fund! Chelsea is also the Project Manager for the Regional Logistics Center (RLC). She has four wild children who keep her busy and tired. In her limited free time, she enjoys water sports, kickboxing, Asian food and is slightly obsessed with music by Adele.

Reviews

They Were Very Nice And Friendly. They Made My Experience Much More Easy And Comfortable. In was Terrified And The Hope Teamembers Definitely Comfort Me As If I Knew Them.

Staff was s great! So helpful and knowledgeable. They helped to make my experience as easy and painless. They are very kind and caring.

I was six weeks and this experience was quite different from what I expected. It was a walk in the park very minimal pain, great staff, all the way around the bored I had a great experience.

Helpful, friendly staff that make what can be a terrifying experience much less scary. Support is offered throughout the whole process.

Everyone was very nice and that calmed my nerves down. They definitely made me feel better about the whole situation. Thank you so much.

My experience at Hope Clinic was amazing. The staff made me feel very comfortable and relaxed and also gave me great detailed descriptions on how everything works. Thank you all so much for the support.

I have never seen a better facility than this one! I have had a prior abortion in a different state and I would recommend driving here 100%. I felt truly cared for during a very hard time and now I have HOPE after visiting the Hope Clinic. Thank you for all that you do!

I felt very supported and comfortable during the process,. You can tell the entire staff really cares about their patients . And out of all the hospitals they were the only ones who could provide financial assistance to me.

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