Meet the two Ohio women on the TIME's 100 list

Mariyam Muhammad, Columbus Dispatch
Updated ·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

[Editor's note: This article originally stated Lauren Blauvelt was the executive director for Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio. It has been has been updated to reflect her current title: Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio].

Two Ohio women have joined Time’s 100 most influential people of 2024.

Lauren Blauvelt and Jenny Holzer pursued their passions for reproductive rights and groundbreaking art, respectively, and joined the prestigious list of worldwide influencers and difference-makers. Here's what to know about them.

Jenny Holzer, a thought-provoking creator

Jenny Holzer, an American conceptual artist, has used an array of materials to provoke public debate on political and social causes.

Holzer was born in Gallipolis, Ohio, in 1950 and is based in Hoosick, New York. She completed her education at Duke University, University of Chicago and Ohio University between 1968 and 1972.

She is best known for her text-based work deployed in public spaces, and her art can be found on electronic signs, carved stone, paintings, billboards, and printed materials. Holzer is thought to have been the artist behind a series of provocative message displayed on a Columbus LED ticker board in 2019, the Dispatch reported.

A carved limestone panel with the inscription “ We are in the midst of reality responding with joy” by Jenny Holzer exists on the west facade of the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.
A carved limestone panel with the inscription “ We are in the midst of reality responding with joy” by Jenny Holzer exists on the west facade of the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.

Her work is both individual and collective, and she uses language in her art for all to understand and explore the meaning behind her work.

Much of the messaging in her oeuvre takes the form of mass communication, with the purpose of opening the mind and creating awareness on women’s rights and the inequity in society.

Holzer’s extraordinary work has reached many corners of the world, and she has had 363 exhibitions and events in her career, according to MutualArt.

Lauren Blauvelt, an abortion rights activist

Oct 8, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Lauren Blauvelt, OURR Co-Chair, Vice President of Government Affairs & Public Advocacy and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, tells people the importance of speaking to friends, family members, and neighbors about the importance of not just supporting, but also voting YES on Issue 1.
Oct 8, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Lauren Blauvelt, OURR Co-Chair, Vice President of Government Affairs & Public Advocacy and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, tells people the importance of speaking to friends, family members, and neighbors about the importance of not just supporting, but also voting YES on Issue 1.

Lauren Blauvelt poured her energy into the November 2023 General Election with Issue 1, allowing abortion to remain a right in the Ohio state constitution. It was a continuation of work she had been doing for more than a decade.

Blauvelt is a co-chair of Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights and the executive director for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio. She completed her education at the University of Cincinnati in 2010, where she co-founded a reproductive rights organization, and has advocated for the advancement of women’s reproductive rights and freedom for 14 years.

Ohio’s six-week abortion ban went into effect for about 11 weeks after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, until a Hamilton County judge put a temporary restraining order on the bill. Clashing Issue 1 campaigns fought to define the abortion narrative in the state, as well as Issue 1 ballot language before voters went to the polls in November.

Ohio voters passed the Issue 1 constitutional amendment to protect abortion and reproductive rights on the night of November 7, 2023, with more than 56% of the vote.

According to Time, Blauvelt represents all the people who worked day and night to get out the vote, and all the voters who came out in support of Issue 1.

“Today, Ohioans made it clear, abortion is a winning issue, and together we can do anything,” Blauvelt said, according to Ohio Capital Journal.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: TIME's 100 list has two Ohio women. Learn more about their work