Meet Allyson Crays
Welcome to my website. Please take a moment to browse my professional work, skills, and experience.
I'm a third-year law student interested in reproductive justice and menstrual justice policy research and advocacy. I have over 6 years of experience organizing for menstrual justice policy at the state and local level. I firmly believe that all people with reproductive capacities deserve to have bodily autonomy and the resources to make the health decisions they desire. My current research focuses on access to reproductive healthcare for people on Medicaid and access to menstrual products for people on public assistance programs.
Contact me directly via email or LinkedIn to learn more or connect!
Education and Affiliations
Northeastern University School of Law
Expected J.D. Spring 2024
Graduate Certificate in Women, Gender, Sexuality and the Law
Member of the Queer Caucus and Executive Board member of If/When/How Lawyering for Reproductive Justice
Interests: legislative/policy work, reproductive justice, LGBTQIA+ issues, menstrual justice
Baldwin Wallace University
B.S. Public Health and Prevention Sciences, May 2020
Magna Cum Laude
Honors Program Graduate
Minors in Legal Studies and Political Science
Named 1 out of 10 Outstanding Seniors in the graduating class
Warren G. Harding High School
Valedictorian, May 2016
Key Club President
YWCA Young Women with Bright Futures Honoree
National Honors Society Blood Drive Coordinator
Varsity Volleyball Player
Professional Affiliations: If/When/How Reproductive Justice Lawyers Network, Society for Menstrual Cycle Research
Menstrual Equity Leadership
I am a passionate advocate for menstrual equity for all people who menstruate. I have over 5 years of activism experience and far more personal experience that I bring to the table. See below for some highlights of my menstrual equity journey.
PERIOD. Board of Directors
I serve on PERIOD.'s Board of Directors and help to advance their mission to end period poverty through service, education, and advocacy.
Vice Chair: January 2024- Present
Member: November 2022- Present
PERIOD.'s Youth Advisory Council Chair
As a member of the council, we tackled essential questions and provided strategic advice to PERIOD staff and the Board of Directors. We worked to ensure that the voices and diversity of young activists are heard and represented in PERIOD’s decision-making and program design.
September 2020-2022
Massachusetts Menstrual Equity Coalition Member
The MA Menstrual Equity Coalition is a group of menstrual activists, advocacy organizations, nonprofits, businesses, and public servants who've come together to end period poverty statewide.
November 2021- Present
Presentations & Speaking Engagements
Some highlights from recent presentations and speaking engagements
Academic Poster Presentation
July 2023
Limitations of Current Menstrual Equity Advocacy, Poster.
The Period is Political: Menstrual Research, Policy, and Practice, Bethesda, MD
Invited Speaker
March 2023
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Invited Speaker
January 2023
Mass Alliance Progressive Municipal Legislative Network meeting
Panelist
October 2022
Global Period Poverty Forum Late Night Show
Keynote Speaker
March 2022
YWCA Young Women with Bright Futures
Panel Moderator
October 2021
“Language and the Menstrual Movement”, Period Action Day. Watch the panel recording here.
Panel Moderator
September 2021
“Patient Advocacy and Education”, Women’s Health Innovation Summit
Academic Poster Presentation
May 2020
Menstrual Equity and Justice, Virtual Poster.
Ohio Public Health Association Conference
Panel Moderator
October 2020
“Menstruation and Mental Health”, Period Action Day. Watch the panel recording here.
Panelist
October 2020
"GOTV Town Hall," No Kid Hungry. Watch the panel recording here.
Presenter
January 2019
Menstrual Equity and Justice, Baldwin Wallace University Social Change Summit
Publications, blogs, media, oh my!
Browse selected articles highlighting some of my recent written work and other media.
Journal Articles
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Allyson Crays, The Untapped Potential of Medicaid and Doulas: Increasing Reproductive Justice for Communities of Color, NE. U. L. REV.: ExtraLegal ( 2023).
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Allyson Crays, Limitations of Current Menstrual Equity Advocacy and a Path Towards Justice, 30 UCLA J. of Gender & L. (2023).
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Allyson Crays, Menstrual Equity and Justice in the United States, 3 Sexuality, Gender & Policy 134 (2020).
Other Written Work
Contributor, Glossary for the Global Menstrual Movement, PERIOD. & Madami (Jan. 2022).
Allyson Crays, Ditch the Binary Menstrual Mentality, The Rag (Mar. 2021).
Allyson Crays, Ditch the Binary Menstrual Mentality: 3 Steps to Get Started, The Buckeye Flame (Mar. 2021).
Media Features
Isabel Meyers, The Politics of Menstruation: How Boston organizations and local policymakers are working to end stigma and increase access to period products, The Scope Boston (Apr. 2023) (quoted).
Sheri Radford, The Messy, Wasteful, Unmentionable Business of Menstruation, Earth Island Journal (Oct. 2021) (quoted).
Periodic Chats, Widening the Conversation Around Menstruation (May 2021) (podcast guest).
Ana Carolina Wong, Baldwin Wallace University Answers Call for Free Sanitary Napkin Dispensers on Campus, Go Aunt Flow (2020) (feature written about organizing work).
