Period Poverty & Menstrual Equity

A Short Film & Roundtable Discussion

A screening of the Academy Award-winning short documentary "Period. End of Sentence." will be followed with a roundtable discussion.

Menstrual products are a necessity, not a luxury. Yet many who need these products don’t have access to them or can’t afford them. This leads to school and work absences. Lack of access to appropriate products or improper use of products also leads to health problems. This program will provide an opportunity to learn about menstrual health and be part of an open discussion of issues surrounding periods and period products.

Meet the roundtable:    

Monica Hutchinson is the Board Treasurer for Flo Free Foundation and joined the organization in November of 2022. Her involvement in the foundation stems from her passion to break the stigma around menstruation and to provide period equity across Arkansas and beyond. She hopes to be a voice and resource in bringing easily accessible period education and products to our local communities. Monica is an Arkansas Native, currently residing in Bentonville, and primarily focuses on serving Northwest Arkansas public schools and communities in need.   

Jaclyn Johnson, MSN, RN, is a nurse of 10 years and currently serves as a nursing instructor. Prior to teaching, she has largely worked with the pediatric population in the hospital setting and as a school nurse. As a NWA native and mother of two, she is ardently dedicated to promoting health and wellness education in our community, and she is particularly inspired to empower youth to learn about their bodies and to set them up to confidently make their own future health decisions. 

Rivers Nicholas is a sophomore nursing major at the University of Arkansas who has the intention of going to graduate school for women's health. Rivers is also the president of the Sexual Health Outreach Organization (SHOO) on campus. SHOO provides comprehensive, unbiased, and inclusive sexual health education to the campus and the community. SHOO's mission is to destigmatize sexual health conversation and provide resources to everyone who needs them.

April Roy is the founder and CEO of femPAQ Inc. femPAQ takes the oops out of unexpected periods by providing accessible period care in every space menstruating people exist. Their mission is to improve Womxn’s Health through products, policies, education and community. April is also Co-Founder of FemHealth Founders (FHF), which empowers female founders to build and lead profitable, women-centric companies that are offering solutions to women’s health-related issues. This hub aims to launch 50 women-led FemHealth companies in the heartland by 2026.  

Moderator: 

Dina Benbrahim is a multidisciplinary creative who uses an intersectional feminist lens to investigate design for visibility, civic action, and social justice for minoritized communities to collectively reimagine equitable futures. She is currently an Endowed Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Arkansas. She is also the founder and director of Hello Departures, an ever-evolving experimental design space at the intersection of pedagogy, strategy, and community that provokes uplifting transformative possibilities.

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