About Us

The COMS Project (Communications, Opinion, and Message Strategy Project) is the central communications, opinion research, and messaging strategy resource hub for the Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice (RHRJ) community. The COMS Project team convenes and collaborates with advocates, pollsters, and experts from across the RHRJ field to develop, analyze, and research message strategies. We facilitate information sharing and coordination across the field. We provide and improve evidence-based communications tools that build public support for abortion and reproductive health access. The COMS Project is committed to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in its research methodology, message development, and messages.

How does the COMS Project serve the RHRJ community?

We create, collaborate on, and disseminate coordinated messages by partnering with organizations from across the RHRJ community to develop message strategies, analyze impact, and share findings broadly.

We provide our expertise to organizations conducting opinion research.

We collect, analyze, and distribute relevant media and opinion data to our members.

We keep our community updated on the latest RHRJ communications, opinion research, and message strategies through webinars, written briefs, in-person convenings, trainings, media scans, and online data sharing.

Message development process: The COMS Project uses a collaborative message development process that relies on input from across the field. Messaging needs are identified through conversations with advocates in the RHRJ community and an annual survey of the RHRJ landscape. After a topic or issue is identified, we convene a working group of leaders across the RHRJ movement and other allies as appropriate. We are intentional in prioritizing inclusivity in our message development process by ensuring participation reflects the communities impacted. The working group comes together to pinpoint the messaging and opinion research needs, inform the development of a research project with input throughout the process, and provide input and feedback on the messages. After the messages are shared and used in the field, we may reconvene the working group to identify and update messages before re-disseminating to the RHRJ community.

Gender-Inclusive language: The COMS Project works with numerous organizations and leaders across the RHRJ community, and we recognize that when it comes to talking about gender identity and abortion, RHRJ organizations have varying strategies, constituencies, and audiences. As we develop messages for the field, we strive to accommodate this breadth of approaches. As with any message guidance, we encourage you to modify our messages to fit your organization’s constituents, values, and communication style. For assistance in discussing these issues within your own organization please refer to this resource.

The COMS Project current materials include examples of gender-neutral and gender-inclusive language and we are updating older materials. We appreciate your feedback as we go through this process.

Meet the team.

Alphabetical Order

Alexis is a political scientist who completed her doctorate with four concentrations: American politics, African politics, Women in Politics, and International Relations. As a communications expert and former professor, Dr. Harris uses an intersectional feminist framework to convey complex information in a compelling way while amplifying the voices of communities of color. When she’s not working, Alexis is usually streaming a motivational video from her favorite speakers, snuggling up with her kittens, or daydreaming about fun travel plans.

Catherine knows her way around reporters and organizations alike. When she isn’t directing the COMS Project, she is strategizing on the best ways to get our clients’ messages out there. A former reporter and communications director in the mental health field, Catherine also spent nearly ten years at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Her specialties included health, entertainment, and Latino media, including Spanish-language media. When she’s not working, she’s usually playing and reading books with her daughter or creating astrology charts (and yes, she always knows when Mercury is retrograde).

A seasoned storyteller and PR expert, Kelly brings her passion for the written word to ConwayStrategic along with a decade of marketing and communications experience in both the corporate and non-profit sectors. She is also a community organizer and advocate with local organizations and coalitions in her hometown related to domestic violence and sexual assault survivors, Black liberation, homelessness, reproductive justice, and more. When she’s not out fighting the power in Ohio, she can be found devouring books, playing with her daughter, or writing (and occasionally publishing) poetry.

Mary Alice (aka MAC) has been developing media campaigns, training spokespeople, crafting messages, navigating crisis communications, and going toe to toe with repro opposition for nearly three decades. Her superpowers are crafting quotes that reporters actually want to use and making complex issues relatable and personal. She lives in NJ with her partner, two kids, a duo of shelter dogs and one cat who is less than pleased with the dogs. She is happiest when someone thinks she’s taller than she is.

ConwayStrategic’s founder and fearless leader, Margaret has a knack for implementing cutting-edge strategies. With a mental Dropbox of movement history and opinion research, Margaret spearheads our creative campaigns on tough issues, while entertaining us with stories of her wife & daughter or pictures of her dogs.

Renitta fights stigma and works on behalf of communities that society most often tries to marginalize, using both the tools of communications and policy. A former Georgia State House legislator, Renitta consults as a senior strategist for the COMS Project team and provides message trainings, facilitates working groups, and informs message development for the RHRJ community.

Tara Sweeney has a passion for finding the messages that connect with the public. With 15 years of movement experience, she has worked with partners across the country to fight the hard fights in the legislatures and at the polls, and win. With a deep knowledge of the key players, organizations, and opponents in the movement, she has worked behind the scenes on dozens of polls and messaging campaigns to advance reproductive health, rights, and justice. Her proudest accomplishment is that her 4 year-old son says she has good jokes.

About Us

Meet the team.

Alexis Harris, Communications Manager, COMS Project

Catherine Lozada, Director, COMS Project

Kelly Sheehy, Communications Manager

Mary Alice Carter, Vice President

Margaret Conway, CEO/Founder

Renitta Shannon, Consultant

Tara Sweeney, Vice President