Planned Parenthood Southeast’s board has hired a law firm to investigate allegations against the abortion-rights group’s executive leadership, according to a statement from the organization.
The investigation comes after a group of former and current Planned Parenthood Southeast staff and board members launched a website and Instagram account, making a range of claims about interim President and CEO Mairo Akpose. Those claims allege Akpose expressed conservative views on gender identity and that she is not fully supportive of Planned Parenthood’s stances on reproductive rights.
Akpose said in a statement that she is committed to the abortion-rights group’s mission.
In a statement Wednesday, Akpose said her Christian faith “grounds my belief in bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom — in every person’s right to access quality, compassionate care, including abortion care, and to receive accurate information that empowers them to make the best choices for their lives.”
The Save PPSE website was hosted by KEACALI, a company cofounded by former Planned Parenthood Southeast President and CEO Carol McDonald who signed an agreement when they left the organization last year barring them from making disparaging statements about Planned Parenthood. (McDonald uses they/them pronouns.)
The day after the website was published, lawyers for Planned Parenthood Southeast told McDonald it violated the terms of their agreement, according to a cease-and-desist letter reviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The website has been deactivated, but critics of executive leadership have taken their message to social media, including an account on Instagram dedicated to their complaints. Organizers behind the account say that more than 500 former staffers, board members, partners and stakeholders have signed a letter calling for Akpose’s removal.
Representatives at Planned Parenthood Southeast did not comment on specific claims made against Akpose and the people she’s hired, other than to say they were aware of them.
The board of directors released a statement saying they were taking the “allegations seriously and have retained a nationally recognized law firm to conduct a thorough review.”
“The board is steadfastly committed to transparency, accountability and delivering affordable, non-judgmental reproductive care across Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi,” the statement read. “We will never waiver in our commitment to ensuring access to abortion and education, as we tirelessly advocate for policies that prioritize equitable access to care for all.”
A Planned Parenthood Federation of America spokesperson said each local Planned Parenthood is in charge of its own personnel decisions.
Akpose was hired as a human resources consultant in 2023 and appointed interim president and CEO by the board the following year. Akpose’s LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages all appear to have been deactivated. An account on X is private.
“When the board asked me to serve as interim CEO, I became the fifth leader of Planned Parenthood Southeast in less than four years,” Akpose said in a statement. “Over the past 15 months, I have led with care and intention to strengthen and stabilize PPSE, significantly decreasing the deficit I inherited and improving our financial standing for long-term sustainability.
“Under my leadership, we have expanded access to care, resulting in a nearly 30% increase in patient volume year over year — a four-year high and a testament to the dedication of our staff and trust our patients place in us,” she said.
Since becoming CEO, Akpose’s detractors told the AJC she wouldn’t use the preferred pronouns of transgender and nonbinary staffers, in person and in emails, despite listing her own pronouns in her email signature.
Planned Parenthood Southeast has been supportive of LGBTQ issues for decades. Representatives from the advocacy arm of the organization have regularly testified against legislation that they say would negatively impact LGBTQ rights, including against bans on transgender students from playing sports according to their gender identity and against a “women’s bill of rights” bill that would have changed the word “gender” to “sex” throughout the state code.
As interim CEO, critics said Akpose touted what some former Planned Parenthood employees call “heteronormative” views, speaking about relationships as though LGBTQ relationships didn’t exist.
Kaylah Oates-Marable, the former Georgia state director for Planned Parenthood Southeast, said she didn’t see Akpose advocate for LGBTQ issues during her tenure.
“Mairo has never once said anything regarding the LGBTQ community. She’s never talked about anything with the trans community. I’ve never heard her say anything that would show she’s an ally,” she said.
“I don’t claim to know what is in her heart or her motives; however, her actions as a leader, first in the HR space at PPSE and then in the interim CEO space, are not in alignment with our vision or our values,” said Jessica Swanson, who served as the director of education and outreach for the organization until she was laid off last month by human resources staff.
Oates-Marable, who also was among those laid off last month, said it appeared to her that the new hires had little knowledge of reproductive health practices or policy. She and other former and current employees say they want Akpose, those she hired and the board of the organization’s nonprofit arm, which approved Akpose’s hiring, to resign.
Oates-Marable said going public with her concerns was not an easy decision.
“To talk on the record about these things hurts because of how much I love what we do,” she said. “I love this organization with my whole heart. I would never say anything to tarnish an organization that I care for to the depths of my soul.”
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