The Most Creative People in Business

EACH OF THESE 54 INDIVIDUALS HAS DONE SOMETHING IN THE PAST YEAR THAT NO ONE HAS EVER DONE BEFORE-SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT, THAT'S REAL, AND THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT. THEY ARE LIVING PROOF THAT ONE PERSON'S UNIQUE CREATIVE EFFORT REALLY CAN SHAPE THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS.

Francine Coeytaux, Amy Merrill, and Elisa Wells
Cofounders, Plan C.

FOR KEEPING WOMEN'S OPTIONS OPEN

WITH ABORTION in America under threat, the nonprofit Plan C, which is committed to maintaining access to the information and pills necessary for medication abortion, has become a vital resource. Launched in 2016 by artist and web designer Amy Merrill and public health advocates Francine Coeytaux and Elisa Wells, the organization offers an online directory of medication-abortion-by-mail resources along with how to find legal, medical, and even emotional support. As challenges to abortion pills grow, Plan C, which drew 2 million visitors in 2022, has escalated efforts to keep pregnant people informed. Its guerrilla campaigns fuse Coeytaux and Wells's public health expertise with Merrill's knack for attention-grabbing storytelling. After Texas implemented the so-called heartbeat bill in 2021, outlawing abortion as early as six weeks, the Plan C team mailed out more than 3 million stickers to supporters nationwide. They were emblazoned with the slogan "Need to be un-pregnant?" and a QR code linking to Plan C's website. The trio partnered last year with the art collective Future Front Texas to create a series of eye-catching educational videos from nearly two dozen Texas-based creatives raising awareness around medication abortion. The nonprofit hit the airwaves, broadcasting ads on iHeartRadio stations in particularly restrictive states. The three founders also feature in the documentary Plan C from director Tracy Droz Tragos, which tracks the rise of telehealth abortion and mail-order pills during the pandemic and post-Roe. It premiered at Sundance in January.