An Arkansas native, Coffield — president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Tennessee and North Mississippi — first encountered Memphis as a student at Rhodes College and became a volunteer health educator here, inaugurating a 20-year career in public health that included service at the Public Health Foundation in Washington, D.C., and leadership of the advocacy group Partnerships for Prevention. Her involvement with Planned Parenthood led her to become a member of the organization’s board and later its chair. She ascended to her current leadership position in 2013 and in 2014 headed Planned Parenthood’s statewide campaign against Amendment One, which aimed at restricting abortion rights in Tennessee, and continues to defend women’s reproductive rights against legal and legislative challenges. Coffield received a Women of Achievement Award for Courage in 2016.
