Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Sabrina Browne of The Flow Initiative Is Helping To Change Our World
Trust is currency. The Flow Initiative has established itself as a credible leader in the menstrual health movement because of the trust we provide to partners and communities. Trust has opened doors for The Flow Initiative from The White House to the United Nations, and this is just the beginning for our organization.
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sabrina Natasha Browne.
Sabrina Natasha Browne is Partner at The Flow Initiative, a national organization committed to eradicating period poverty and achieving menstrual equity for all. Period poverty is a global health issue defined by inadequate access to menstrual health resources including products and washing facilities. Since 2019, The Flow Initiative has ushered in six bills to advance menstrual health legislation, educated 40,000 students on period poverty nationwide, and distributed 1.3 million menstrual health products worldwide.
Sabrina believes in a three-pronged approach to educate, engage, and empower communities about menstruation. This has resulted in The Flow Initiative working with Period.org, U By Kotex, United State of Women, The White House Gender Policy Council, and several others. She is committed to achieving menstrual equity for all to ensure people can participate in our society knowing they have access to the basic necessities to thrive. To date, Sabrina has been awarded for her efforts to end period poverty by Advertising Week’s The Future is Female and INvolve’s Top 100 Women Future Leaders.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I learned about period poverty four years ago when The Flow Initiative was hosting a period product drive with The Hoboken Girl, the largest lifestyle outlet in the city of Hoboken. The drive had a call to action to secure 30,000 menstrual health products to help the local community. I immediately galvanized my network to secure thousands of products and help the organization meet its goal.
Following the event, I reached out to Eiko La Boria, Founder and CEO of The Flow Initiative to learn more about the organization and ways I could get involved. Four years later, I am now partner at The Flow Initiative working alongside Eiko, and our dynamic team of grassroots volunteers to help eradicate period poverty and achieve menstrual equity for all.
Nationwide, 16.9 million menstruating women live in poverty, and two-thirds of them are low-income and food secure. While 2 in 5 people in the United States struggle to afford period supplies, according to U by Kotex. The numbers are even higher in Black and Hispanic communities, underscoring the urgent need for our work at The Flow Initiative. As a Belgian and Liberian executive, I was shocked to learn that 20 percent of Black people who menstruate experience poverty and get by doing things like borrowing products, using toilet paper, fabric, or using nothing in the United States. We should not accept this in any country, let alone one of the world’s most developed countries.
Our women, girls, and the menstruating community deserve better, and The Flow Initiative is on a mission to enact real change in the menstrual health movement.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
The Flow Initiative’s second annual New Jersey Menstrual Equity Summit which was held at Dvora in Jersey City. The annual event convenes menstrual health advocates, allies, grassroots and community leaders, and legislators for a half-day of programming.
During our second year, we met a remarkable young, blind woman who was advocating to eradicate period poverty in her local community. Her testimony was powerful, as she discussed the importance of making sure menstrual health products are inclusive across packaging, design, imagery, and language to ensure we reach all voices in the menstruating community. Her story has stayed with me since, and whenever we are distributing products, we always take an extra step to ensure the distribution is catered to the community we are serving.
In some communities, we see higher requests for pads and tampons, in other communities we see requests for pads and period underwear, and the variations continue to evolve to include liners, menstrual cups, wipes and more. Each product donation brings us closer to our communities and allows The Flow Initiative to better understand who they are and what they need to thrive. Period poverty is something that has happened to them, but this issue doesn’t define who they are as a person.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Have you ever tried to fit 10,000 menstrual health products in your apartment? I wouldn’t recommend it! Every month we receive an influx of menstrual health product donations and during the early days of our organization we would have products in our homes as a storage unit was not in budget. As The Flow Initiative’s reach and awareness expanded from New Jersey to nationwide, so did our product donations. Now, we have a large storage unit and this simple, yet necessary investment has made an immeasurable difference for our organization.
Previously, we were distributing 1,000 to 3,000 menstrual health products per week. Now, we’re averaging 5,000 products per week and 10,000 products per week during our peak moments throughout the year — such as Menstrual Health Awareness Month, Period Poverty Awareness Week and the back to school season.
The best lesson we learned is to make strategic investments in your business for the long-term. We held off on that storage unit thinking we could save money, but it eventually started hindering our reach and impact as an organization. Today, we have the right infrastructure in place to ensure The Flow Initiative can continue to serve the most vulnerable in our communities.
Can you describe how you or your organization is making a significant social impact?
Since 2019, The Flow Initiative has ushered in six bills to advance menstrual health legislation, educated 40,000 students on period poverty nationwide, and distributed 1.3 million menstrual health products worldwide. The Flow Initiative has also implemented major initiatives beyond the numbers including working with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy to declare May 28 as Menstrual Equity Day. The annual designation recognizes the service of local advocates, period supply banks and their staff, volunteers, donors, and grassroots leaders statewide.
The Flow Initiative has also conducted over 300 educational workshops on period poverty and menstrual equity to schools, libraries, corporations, global organizations, domestic abuse shelters and more. Looking ahead, we will continue using our three-pronged approach to educate, engage, and empower communities about menstruation.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
The Flow Initiative has been fortunate to have the support of volunteers, donors, community leaders and legislators, as well as everyday people who want to make a positive impact. One of those individuals is Jennifer Tripucka, Founder of The Local Girl Media Group.
We partnered with Jen back in 2019 to launch the first period product drive in Hoboken, New Jersey. The joint effort between The Flow Initiative and The Hoboken Girl is now an annual event that community members look forward to every year. Beyond the exposure afforded by this partnership is the proud sense of community that stems from working with local leaders such as Jen to make a meaningful difference.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
At The Flow Initiative, we believe the fight against period poverty is not just about providing access; it’s about ensuring equity and inclusion.
- First, understand the menstrual health movement is not just about distributing free products but implementing cross-sector collaboration — across government, grassroots, community, and corporate leaders to drive long-term change. We need a unified approach to address the global health issue that is period poverty because The Flow Initiative cannot solve this by ourselves.
- Second, recognize that the solutions must be as diverse as the people we serve. We need initiatives that understand cultural sensitivities, economic barriers, and the specific needs of marginalized and LGBTQ+ communities.
- Finally, invest in menstrual health organizations such as The Flow Initiative who are working to eradicate period poverty. Your financial investments will allow The Flow Initiative to continue advocating for policy changes and innovating menstrual health products and services.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Being a leader means asking yourself, would I follow you? Once you can answer this question you will know how to evolve your leadership style and align it with your personal purpose. Thereafter, learn how to tailor your leadership style to fulfill your organization’s mission.
The Flow Initiative’s mission is to achieve menstrual equity for all. Through programs, partnerships, and policy, the mission comes to life and reinforces The Flow Initiative as a national leader in period poverty.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
1 . The price of inaction is far greater than the loss of action. Period poverty is a global health issue that is running rampant in communities domestically and abroad. We must act now to improve our society for the long-term.
2 . You can’t read the label from inside the jar. Leadership requires “inside-out” thinking, and I aim to know when to bring in the right people and partners to meet The Flow Initiative’s objectives.
3 . Change doesn’t wait for an invitation. The Flow Initiative believes change is essential for the menstrual health movement to progress in terms of legislation and innovation. Our recent “Voices For Change” amplifies this message.
4 . Visibility is the first step towards change. The Flow Initiative is one of a few, minority owned-and-operated organizations working to eradicate period poverty. Our leadership and credibility in a predominantly non-diverse space inspires the next generation of menstrual equity advocates.
5 . Trust is currency. The Flow Initiative has established itself as a credible leader in the menstrual health movement because of the trust we provide to partners and communities. Trust has opened doors for The Flow Initiative from The White House to the United Nations, and this is just the beginning for our organization.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
My call to action is for local communities to urge their representatives to pass the Menstrual Equity For All Act which recognizes that period poverty is a public health issue, and expands access to free sanitary napkins and tampons in certain locations and for particular groups. Additionally, it requires Medicaid to cover menstrual products which will help alleviate the financial burdens at the local and regional level.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
No change, no butterfly. This is one of my favorite life quotes because a butterfly’s metamorphosis can be likened to the stages of adulthood, illustrating the profound and essential transformations we undergo throughout our lives. Several years ago, I was overcoming a brain aneurysm and this experience was marked by major change, health challenges, and maturation. This experience allowed me to build a foundation of faith and family that continues to help me navigate change today.
Finally, at 32 years old, I have emerged as a butterfly and represent the culmination of my experiences from a brain aneurysm survivor to corporate executive, to luxury content creator and menstrual health advocate. Each stage, each role, has shown me the importance of embracing change to achieve my fullest potential.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
The visionary leader, Melinda French Gates, for her strategic investments to empower women and girls around the world. Melinda is a woman I deeply admire because she’s aligned her words with her actions at the highest level through her work at Pivotal Ventures. She announced recently that she plans to donate $1 billion over the next two years to organizations supporting women and girls.
Yet, while several reputable organizations were announced as Pivotal’s initial recipients, none of them are focused on menstrual equity. In order for women and girls to truly succeed, we must first eradicate period poverty to ensure they can continue contributing to our communities, economy, and society at-large. Menstrual equity is at the core of our success, and I look forward to seeing what Pivotal Ventures and The Flow Initiative could do together.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can follow The Flow Initiative across all channels at @TheFlowInitiative, in addition to connecting with me on LinkedIn and Instagram.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
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