We Are Free
Period Talk

Building An Equitable Future, Together

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MEET OUR FOUNDERS

RHIA PATEL

LOUISA CORBETT

Rhia is from Sharon, MA and is a junior at Milton Academy, where she enjoys being involved with both the Milton community and the greater Boston community through the Community Engagement program and cultural clubs.

Her journey with menstrual equity began in middle school when she joined PeriodTalk, a student led non-profit. Her work in fundraising for menstrual products and advocating for more students menstrual education taught her how health disparities affect not only global but also local communities. Aware of the stigma surrounding menstruation—her period product posters were torn down and laughed at in middle school—she continues to advocate for equity.

"Our generation is in charge of being change makers, and if we allow one another to be quiet about injustices surrounding us, then we will not advance as a society. Menstruation is health care and healthcare is a human right. All individuals deserve equal access to hygienic needs and should not have to fear being laughed at or denied help. Schools are often the first place a menstruator may be faced with discrimination and at Free Period Talk we aim to stand up against the stigma and advocate for what we believe in."

--Rhia

Louisa is a resident of Hingham, MA and a junior at Milton Academy, where she develops her advocacy, critical thinking, and leadership skills in and out of the classroom. As co-head of healthcare equity and climate justice clubs, Louisa has learned effective organizing techniques that she is excited to bring to Free Period Talk.

Menstrual inequity has always been an issue of relevance to Louisa. Since middle school, she has volunteered with Free Period, a Hingham-based nonprofit, and she took on the role of Student Ambassador for the organization during her sophomore year at Milton.

"Knowing that not only do so many menstruators experience the monthly injustice of having their basic needs denied, but also that many people don't even realize the scope of the problem, or won't speak the words "period poverty" is so great an injustice it would be wrong to not take action. I aim to help build a world in which menstrual health is a standardized part of curricula, the proper funding goes towards supplies as necessary as toilet paper, and nobody is kept from living because their needs aren't being met."

--Louisa

Our Impact

Community Based

Free Period Talk is grounded in the philosophy that we, organized, are powerful and can affect real change. That's we have a community-based approach. We operate out of localized teams and ensure each Team Leader is well-connected within their communities so that all Free Period Talk members feel involved.

Advocacy Driven

Writing dignity into the law is the next step towards achieving menstrual equity. We at Free Period Talk teach advocacy tactics and develop all members' comfortability with engaging with the legislative process. In the 194th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Free Period Talk Team Leaders and Members have been staunch advocates of the I AM Bill (H.2483/S.2546) and the Ingredient Disclosure Bill (H.2375/S.1483), holding constituent meetings in the MA State House and developing relationships with legislators.

Economic Success

In 2023, an estimated 1 in 4 students struggled to afford menstrual products. More broadly, if the gender pay gap closed, the global economy would increase by $12 trillion. The economic impacts of gender and menstrual inequity are real and debilitating—we work to acknowledge and combat them with educational initiatives, product drives, and fundraisers, because investing in equity is worth it (literally).