Cecile Richards, the author and activist who served as the president of Planned Parenthood for 12 years, has died at 67, the Texas Tribune reports. The cause of death was brain cancer.

Richards, a native of Waco, Texas, was educated at Brown University, and worked for years as a labor organizer before joining the campaign of her mother, Ann Richards, who successfully ran for Texas governor in 1990. She founded the nonprofit Texas Freedom Network in 1996 and became president of Planned Parenthood in 2006.

She stepped down from the organization in 2018, and the following year, founded Supermajority, a political action group. Last November, former President Joe Biden honored Richards with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In 2018, Gallery Books published Richards’ memoir, Make Trouble: Stand Up, Speak Out, and Find the Courage To Lead, co-written with Lauren Peterson; a critic for Kirkus called it “a memoir that makes palpable the immense influence of an organization that has improved so many women’s lives.” A young readers’ edition of the book, adapted by Ruby Shamir, was published the following year.

Richards’ admirers paid tribute to her on social media. On the platform X, political consultant Chuck Rocha wrote, “Rest in peace to my dear sister @CecileRichards. I had the honor to work with your mother and then with you. There is a huge hole in all our hearts to see you go!”

And former Sen. Claire McCaskill posted, “She was an amazing woman.…Cecile fought for women’s rights. Hard. Millions of women benefited from her courage and determination. Cecile Richards made her mom proud. RIP.”

Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.