2024 Annual Report

The bay at Port Orford, Oregon

c/o Catherine H. Knoop, Population Connection member since 1987

Tackling runaway population growth has never been more important.

Thanks to the unwavering support of our members in 2024, Population Connection pressed forward with determination in our mission to address global population challenges through education, advocacy, and international partnerships. In a year marked by environmental strain, growing social divides, and persistent inequities, our commitment to reproductive freedom and social justice felt more vital than ever.

Building a Sustainable Future Through Education

Through workshops, webinars, and curriculum resources, Population Education equipped K-12 educators to bring population issues into classrooms across Northern America. Teachers and students engaged with vital topics such as climate change, resource consumption, and sustainable development, gaining the tools to think critically about the connections between human activities and the environment.

Expanding Global Access to Family Planning, Empowering Girls, and Contributing to Conservation

In 2024, we deepened the impact of our Global Partners initiative. Thanks to donor-restricted funding, we supported grassroots organizations in countries such as Guatemala, Uganda, Kenya, and Nepal. We provided opportunities for our partners to deliver reproductive health services, girls’ education, and environmental conservation programs to their local communities.

Mobilizing for Reproductive Rights: The #Fight4HER Campaign

In a pivotal year for reproductive rights, our joint #Fight4HER campaign with Population Connection Action Fund mobilized a diverse coalition of advocates and leaders to raise awareness and get out the vote in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; Columbus, Ohio; the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania; and Manchester, New Hampshire.

Shaping the Narrative: Communications and Media Outreach

In tandem with our grassroots and policy work, our Communications team played a critical role in shaping public understanding of population trends and their relationship to health, development, and the environment. In 2024, we prioritized media engagement to counter harmful misinformation and provide accurate, accessible insights on the connections between population dynamics and global challenges.

Through op-eds, letters to the editor, social media engagement, and our quarterly magazine, we reached a broad and diverse audience. Our efforts ensured that conversations in the media about reproductive rights and environmental policy didn’t exclude the impacts of human population growth.

Population Education

Population Education (PopEd) provides K-12 educators with innovative, hands-on lesson plans and professional development initiatives to teach about human population growth and its effects on the environment and human well-being. As the only national program for teachers that focuses on human population issues, PopEd fulfills an essential need in American classrooms.

In addition to workshops and classroom materials, PopEd offers unique professional development opportunities, such as our Leadership Institutes, an accredited graduate course, and various networking events. These events provide a valuable space for educators to connect, share experiences, and collaborate on new ideas for integrating population into their curricula. 

Population Education

Thank you for your recent workshop. It was one of the best organized, enjoyable and relevant workshops I have attended. Howard Aprill, PopEd Workshop Participant

Leadership Institutes

PopEd Leadership Institutes offer immersive training for educators looking to deepen their expertise and take a leadership role in promoting Population Education. We held our Summer Institute in Charlotte, NC, and our Fall Institute in Detroit, MI, where a combined 51 teachers received training on how to facilitate PopEd lessons and workshops. All participants were new to the PopEd Trainers Network, joining our volunteer ranks of 750+ professional educators. Through these institutes, educators gain the confidence and resources to become advocates for change in their schools and communities.

More Details Here

Teacher Workshops

Our PopEd program presents hands-on workshops that equip teachers with the tools to effectively teach about population dynamics, environmental sustainability, and human impacts on our planet. Every workshop is tailored to the participants’ grade level and subject area, ensuring that all participating teachers gain valuable skills and tools they can use with their students. These engaging sessions are crafted to bring real-world issues into the classroom and into non-formal education settings such as museums and zoos, fostering critical thinking among students. PopEd hosted 600+ workshops in 2024, preparing educators to address today’s most pressing global challenges.

Explore Teacher Workshops

National Science Teaching Association Convention

In March, the PopEd team hosted an exhibit booth at the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) Convention in Denver. The convention brings together thousands of science educators to share strategies and best practices to transform science education. More than 400 attendees stopped by and explored our booth. In addition, PopEd held three workshops at the convention, two presented by staff and one given by two of our incredible trainers!

More Details Here

Student Video Contest

Our annual World of 8 Billion student video contest sparks creativity among middle and high school students, encouraging them to address global challenges linked to population growth. Teachers worldwide use the student video contest to promote global learning and give students hands-on experience with essential 21st-century skills. Each year, the contest brings innovation into classrooms and highlights critical issues in fresh, student-led ways.

In the 2023-2024 contest, students tackled topics within three categories: Climate Migration, Invasive Species, and Global Health. Participation was impressive, with 4,600+ students from 58 countries submitting entries, each offering unique perspectives on today’s global challenges. 

Watch the Winning Videos

Online Graduate Course

PopEd offers an online graduate course for educators teaching Environmental Science, World Geography, Human Geography, Biology/Life Science, World History, or their AP counterparts. 

The self-paced course is offered in the fall and summer and awards three graduate credits through Adams State University upon completion. It features interactive lessons, classroom-ready resources, and strategies for integrating population studies into various subjects, meeting national and state standards. This course enables teachers to help students explore the connections between human population trends, environmental challenges, and sustainable development.

More Details Here

Population Studies for Higher Education

Integrating population trends and dynamics into higher education courses on ecology, geography, gender studies, and related topics equips future professionals to consider population challenges in their careers, consumption patterns, childbearing decisions, and civic engagement. In 2024, we presented to more than 100 college and university classes nationwide about the connections between population, health, environment, and sustainable development. 

Population Studies for Higher Education

[The UNCG Summer Course] has helped me better understand the interrelated topics of environment and sustainability through a lens of demography and women’s empowerment. I feel that my understanding of the topics I’ve learned in my major has been dramatically enhanced, like a missing piece to a puzzle being fit in. Jason Regal, UNCG Student

UNCG Summer Course

In 2024, we continued our partnership with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), offering our virtual World Population Problems summer course for a second year. The five-week course engaged students in the complex and intricate links between demographic trends and social and climate justice. It featured impactful guest speakers, including Population Connection staff and our Global Partner organizations. With a justice-focused framework, students explored the connections between bodily autonomy, climate resilience, sustainable development, and gender equality, examining the root causes and impacts of population growth globally and domestically.

The photo at left is from an in-person presentation at Palomar College in southern California.

Read the Course Syllabus

Guest Presentations

Explaining the complex connections between population growth, health, development, and the environment is central to our mission, and our speakers make these topics accessible to diverse audiences. Book a guest speaker for your class, organization, or event to engage in discussions on human population dynamics as part of the global human rights and sustainable development agenda. 

Book a Guest Speaker

Media Coverage

A critical part of our work is informing the public about population dynamics, reproductive health and rights, and environmental sustainability. The portrayal of population issues in the media continues to be challenging, with frequent inaccuracies that can mislead public understanding.

Our team consistently monitors news coverage and swiftly responds to articles with op-eds, letters to the editor (LTEs), and press releases. By doing so, we ensure that population issues are accurately represented in broader conversations about global challenges, offering clarity and keeping population stabilization a central part of the dialogue on sustainable solutions.

Recent Media Coverage

Our only hope is to slow, and ultimately cease, the astronomical growth of the human population, to allow the earth to heal and support a smaller, stable population. I was thankful to find your organization as a conduit to contribute toward a better tomorrow, even though it is one that I will never see. Donna J. Warlick, Population Connection Member

Media Outreach

Over the past year, we amplified key demographic insights and population trends by rapidly responding to headlines with op-eds and letters to the editor (LTEs). Our media outreach efforts have shaped meaningful conversations about global challenges, ensuring that population issues are understood in their broader context and remain a central part of the dialogue on sustainable solutions.

While we are proud of the submissions that are accepted for publication (click on the button above to see recent media coverage), we submit many more than are published. See our unpublished letters to the editor by clicking the button below. 

Read our Unpublished LTEs

Quarterly Magazine

Population Connection magazine is our quarterly publication, distributed to our network of 40,000 supporters, every member of Congress, and about 3,000 public and university libraries.

Our 2024 issues covered diverse topics critical to population and development. The March issue explored low fertility rates and pronatalist policies in East Asia and Europe. The June edition focused on Tanzania’s population growth and its effects on sustainability and development. The September issue marked the 30th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), revisiting global commitments to sexual and reproductive health. The December issue highlighted community health workers in Indonesia and their efforts to improve access to voluntary family planning services. Each issue provides timely insights into population dynamics worldwide. 

Magazine Archive

United Nations Participation

57th Session of the Commission on Population and Development

We hosted an official virtual side event to the UN’s 57th Session of the Commission on Population and Development with Population Matters and Population Media Center in April. During the panel discussion, speakers (including our board member Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka) highlighted how addressing the critical connections between population and sustainable development can help increase international reproductive health and rights funding.

Read the text of our joint oral statement, delivered in person at the conference, also in collaboration with our friends at Population Matters and Population Media Center.

Recording of Side Event Here

World Population Day

In response to the World Population Day (July 11) release of the UN’s updated 2024 population estimates and projections, we distributed a press release, blog post, and op-ed, which was published on Earth.org — all of which were featured on the UN Population Division website! Scroll down to “Partner organizations and media outreach” and find Population Connection resources listed at the third bullet point.

And check out our World Population Day page below, which contains more information about the new projections and a recording of a presentation our Communications team gave about the new UN estimates and projections.

World Population Day webpage

Summit of the Future

In September, the Communications team participated in the United Nations Summit of the Future, distributing a fact sheet on behalf of Population Connection, Population Matters, and Population Media Center. As a result of our two oral statements (recordings here and here) and three rounds of comments on drafts of the document leading up to the Summit, the final Pact for the Future includes:  

Commitment 20: Strengthen cooperation among States in their response to demographic trends and realities, such as rapid population growth, declining birth rates, and ageing populations, as well as in addressing the interlinkages between population issues and development across all regions, taking into account the needs and interests of present and future generations, including children and youth, and the substantial contributions of older persons to sustainable development efforts. 

Read the Pact for the Future

Field & Outreach

Our Advocacy staff communicate with members of Congress and raise awareness around policies that hamper reproductive health and rights, domestically and abroad. Through grassroots outreach and direct engagement on Capitol Hill, the team fights to ensure universal access to comprehensive reproductive health care, including the full range of contraceptives and safe abortion.

Take Action With Us

I could probably count on my hand how many people actually knew what the Global Gag Rule was before I talked to them. I think the educational aspect of the need for Population Connection to be here and educate the folks here in Phoenix is very high. Matt Lopez, #Fight4HER Organizer

#Fight4HER Summits

Our #Fight4HER campaign, a joint effort with our sister organization, Population Connection Action Fund, hosted summits in key districts nationwide in September. The six summits rallied 200+ high school and college students and community advocates in defense of reproductive freedom. Summits were held in critical battleground districts:

  • Phoenix, Arizona
  • Tucson, Arizona
  • Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Columbus, Ohio
  • Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania
  • Manchester, New Hampshire

Each summit featured inspiring keynote presentations on the harmful impacts of restrictive policies, with a special focus on the Global Gag Rule, interactive workshops on advocacy and storytelling, and energizing calls to action. Local officials reinforced the importance of reproductive rights, uniting activists in impactful sessions designed to build skills and mobilize support for change. These events empowered attendees to champion access to reproductive health care and sustain momentum in the fight for reproductive freedom.

Learn About Our Policy Priorities

World Contraception Day

We marked World Contraception Day with an event hosted by Population Connection Action Fund and our joint #Fight4HER campaign. The virtual presentation brought together activists, organizers, and community leaders to explore the challenges and progress in securing reproductive health care and family planning options worldwide. The event provided valuable insights into the advocacy landscape for reproductive rights, with stories and experiences shared by those working on the front lines.

 

Recording Available Here

Canvassing Efforts

The Action Fund’s outreach program in key communities successfully connected with thousands of individuals. Canvassing teams knocked on 125,000+ doors and engaged more than 30,000 people in conversations on reproductive rights and sustainable development. They gathered 5,000 petition signatures to advocate for the permanent repeal of the Global Gag Rule, a policy that cuts foreign aid for clinics that provide abortions or related services, including counseling and referrals, and has been put in place during each Republican administration since 1984. These grassroots efforts fostered vital connections and raised awareness about pressing issues in each targeted area.

Contact Congress

Virtual Events Program

Since 2020, we’ve hosted virtual events to keep our supporters informed on the impact of rapid population growth. In 2024, we held 19 events with demography experts, Global Partners, and peer population organizations, spotlighting the importance of integrating population stabilization efforts into sustainable development. These sessions covered diverse topics—demographic trends, reproductive rights, conservation, and more—engaging more than 900 participants in meaningful discussions and raising awareness on critical issues.

2024 Virtual Event Archive

“We are not the people who will sit back and do nothing. We have to do something. You have to make an effort in this world, and it’s a way to feel a little bit better about the future, too. The key is never to minimize your contribution no matter how small it appears.” Paula Grande and Middy Streeter, Population Connection Volunteers

Page Turners Book Club

Now in its fourth year, our Page Turners book club explored a range of thought-provoking titles that covered critical issues such as population trends and dynamics, environmental justice, and reproductive health. During our quarterly meetings, we engaged with 230+ supporters, offering participants a chance to delve into complex themes related to sustainability and demographic trends, and giving members an opportunity to connect with each other face-to-face.

This year’s reading list provided diverse perspectives on the themes mentioned above, featuring As Long as the Grass Grows by Dina Gilio-Whitaker, Without Children by Peggy O’Donnell Heffington, A Life on Our Planet by David Attenborough, and Intertwined: Women, Nature, and Climate Justice by Rebecca Kormos. Each meeting deepened our understanding of critical issues and created meaningful connections among supporters committed to population stabilization.

More Details Here

Summer Photo Contest

The response to our third annual Summer Photo Contest was incredible! Participants once again transported us through their stunning artwork. We received more than 100 submissions from our talented supporters, who captured everything from breathtaking landscapes to beautiful wildlife. The images of entrants’ enchanting moments continue to inspire us and remind us of the beauty and diversity of our world. Thank you to all who participated and shared your talents with us! 

View 2024 Submissions

Green Spaces of Our Lives

In 2024, we launched the Green Spaces of Our Lives photo series, inviting our supporters to share snapshots from their favorite natural settings. Spearheaded by our Board Chair, Bryce Hach, this online project showcases how our supporters connect with nature and what drives them to advocate for sustainability. With submissions from members nationwide, the project offers a beautiful, collective portrait of our shared love for the planet. Supporters can view the gallery and submit their photos on our website!

Green Spaces of Our Lives Photos

Global Partner Presentations

Our Global Partners initiative amplifies the efforts of community-based organizations that provide reproductive health care, promote girls’ education, protect biodiversity, and foster sustainable development. These grassroots organizations are instrumental in advancing equity and sustainability in their regions.

This year, we celebrated their achievements through our Global Partners Series, featuring partners working in Madagascar, Guatemala, Colombia, Uganda, and Kenya who shared insights into their impactful, locally-driven programs and projects. Attendees engaged in dynamic Q&A sessions and learned how our support enhances their vital work. Their stories inspire our shared vision for a more equitable future.

Learn More About Our Global Partners

Earth Day

Nearly 200 supporters joined us for virtual Earth Day events! First, we hosted an event with President and CEO John Seager, who discussed the importance of removing barriers to family planning worldwide. John’s presentation energized attendees and emphasized that population pressures exacerbate environmental challenges, from resource depletion to biodiversity loss and the climate crisis.

Then, we were thrilled to hear from Dr. Céline Delacroix, Director of the FP/Earth project with the Population Institute. Dr. Delacroix joined us to share key findings in her recent peer-reviewed article, co-authored with Dr. Nkechi S. Owoo, which explores stakeholder perspectives on the links between reproductive rights, population dynamics, and environmental sustainability.

Watch the Recordings

International Day for Biological Diversity

We hosted a lively virtual Biodiversity Trivia event in partnership with the Center for Biological Diversity. Participants put their knowledge of population dynamics, reproductive health, and endangered species to the test. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with fellow environmental advocates and share our mutual passion for biodiversity and sustainability.

We value collaborations with like-minded organizations, especially those that address the vital connections between population and environmental conservation. Think you’d be a trivia champ? Take the quiz and test your knowledge!

Test Your Knowledge

Financials

Board of Directors

Aaron Dannenberg, JD, MBA

Managing Director and Head of Private Debt Solutions at Nomura Securities International

Aaron S. Allen, PhD

Director of the Environmental & Sustainability Program, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Bob Pettapiece, EdD (Treasurer)

Professor of Teacher Education, Wayne State University (Retired)

Bruce Fallick, PhD

Senior Vice President, Research Department, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

Bryce Hach, MS (Chair)

Biology & Environmental Science Teacher, North Yarmouth Academy

Eleanor Unsworth, MS

Executive Director, WINGS Guatemala

Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, BVetMed, MsPVM

Founder and CEO, Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH)

Kevin Whaley, PhD

CEO, Mapp Biopharmaceutical, Inc.

Mark Hathaway, MD, MPH (Secretary)

Director, Family Planning Services, Unity Health Care, Inc., & Sr. Technical Advisor for Reproductive Health, Jhpiego

Mary Beth Weinberger, MA

Chief, Population and Development Section, UN Population Division (Retired)

Melvine Ouyo, BScN, MPA, MPH (Vice Chair)

Founder & ED, HKSAI & Independent Consultant, Population Connection Action Fund

Sachu Constantine, MPP

Executive Director at Vote Solar

Seema Mohapatra, JD, MPH

M.D. Anderson Foundation Endowed Professor in Health Law, SMU Dedman School of Law

Amy Dickson, MPH

Benefits Division Director, Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing