Dr. Kristen Kirksey is a Project Director at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She received her PhD in sociology from the University of Connecticut and her MPH from Tulane University. Kristen’s professional experience in community health, training in sociology and public health, and positionality as a Black woman from the US South have informed and impassioned her research. Kristen seeks to develop a body of research around the adaptive practices utilized by Black people in the US to navigate health care in tenuous social and political contexts. She is particularly interested in integrative approaches to reproductive health, combining conventional and complementary approaches to care, which have long been used as adaptive practices by Black people in the context of ongoing medical racism and a disproportionately restrictive policy environment. She aims to leverage integrative health care as a tool for advancing health equity. Support from the Changemakers in Family Planning Award will position Kristen to become an independent researcher and to transition into a faculty position at UCSF. Dr. Kirksey’s plans for the award period are to: 1) Carry out independent study; 2) Develop a diverse mentorship team; and 3) Complete a NIH career development award proposal. The Changemakers in Family Planning Award will position Kristen to lead applied research on integrative approaches to reproductive health, developing and evaluating interventions, and disseminating findings to effectively integrate into policy and practice.