Andrew Bair

Maryland Right to Life

Andrew Bair is the Administrative Director for Maryland Right to Life, a contributor to LifeNews,
and serves on the board of Rainbow Pro-Life Alliance. He previously worked for National Right to Life where he wore many hats which included political action, communications, chapter development, field work, fundraising, and more. Prior to NRLC, he worked for the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation in his home state of Pennsylvania. Andrew is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. He lives in the DC area. You can reach him at andrew@mdrtl.org or on X- @prolifepolitics.

 

Christina Bennett

Live Action

Christina Bennett is a pro-life advocate whose passion stems from a miraculous story. Christina was moments away from being aborted, before her mother met a hospital janitor who helped save her life. Upon hearing this story in her 20s, Christina dedicated herself to pro-life work. She has served as a prayer missionary, a Communications Director for an advocacy organization and a Client Services Manager for a Connecticut pregnancy resource center. Christina has testified for the pro-life cause at two congressional hearings and in the Oval Office. As a Live Action News Correspondent, Christina helps to represent Live Action on news outlets, social media platforms and radio stations nationwide. Christina travels throughout the country as a speaker for Ambassadors International. Through speaking she has helped to raise millions in support for pregnancy resource centers. Christina is a wife, mother and devoted Christian minister
from Connecticut.

 

Abraham Bonowitz

Death Penalty Action

Abraham J. Bonowitz has been a leading organizer to end the death penalty since he changed his mind on the issue 30+ years ago. As Field Manager for New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the DP, in 2007 he helped pass the first post-Furman legislative repeal bill. He was also directly involved in the repeal victories in NM, IL and MD and to a lesser degree in CT, NE, NH, CO & VA.

Bonowitz co-founded Death Penalty Action in 2017 in response to anticipated federal executions and led the grassroots response to the unprecedented federal execution spree in the final months of the Trump Administration. As executive director, he has helped grow Death Penalty Action into the leading grassroots anti-death penalty organization in the United States. The organization creates high visibility public protests and manages behind-the-scenes strategic organizing and communications campaigns that save lives and change public policy. Among other projects, Bonowitz and his team of volunteers and staff are currently supporting the effort to abolish the death penalty in Ohio and led efforts which helped successfully stop the execution of Melissa Lucio, an innocent woman who had been scheduled to be executed on April 27th.

Abe is a graduate of the Ohio Institute of Photography and worked as a photographer before being bitten by the human rights bug in the late 1980s. He served on the board of directors of Amnesty International USA and worked for several years with as assistant to the founding executive director of the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation, established following the civil rights leaders' death in 1993. Abe is a native Ohioan and lives in Columbus with his wife, their son, two cats and a dog.

 

Kristen Day

Democrats for Life of America

Kristen Day is the Executive Director of Democrats For Life of America and oversees all operations of the Washington, D.C. office.

Kristen began her interest in politics at Michigan State University where she was elected to serve as a Precinct Delegate during her sophomore year. She worked for State Representative Rick Sitz and went on to work for the Government Affairs Office at Michigan State University. After graduation, Kristen followed her lifelong dream to work on Capitol Hill where she eventually rose to serve in the highest position as the Chief of Staff for Congressman Jim Barcia.One of her passions was working to pass pro-life and pro-family legislation and also advocated for Democrats who oppose abortion. 

Day’s articles have been published in the LA Times, Washington Post, Harvard Crimson, the National Review and other Publications. She is the author of Democrats For Life: Pro-Life Politics and the Silenced Majority published by New Leaf Press in July 2006. The book outlines the history of the pro-life Democrat movement. She was published in the 2006 Notre Dame Journal on Law and Public Policy with a piece entitled, “Politics and the Culture of Life-Why I am Still a Democrat.”

 

Dana DiMattia

Virginia for Preborn Justice

Dana DiMattia is an independent anti-abortion activist that has worked with various groups across the religious and political spectrum within the pro life movement in the DC and northern Virginia area. She started her activism while sidewalk counseling with 40 Days for Life and participating in sign outreaches on street corners and college campuses with Center for Bioethical Reform and Abolitionists Rising. She has supported rescue efforts of Red Rose Rescue and participated in direct action with Progressive Anti Abortion Uprising. She has worked alongside groups such as Survivors to challenge late term abortion clinics in Washington DC. In preparation for the November 2024 election, she collaborated with Freedom from Violence to spread awareness to the public about the abortion amendment in Maryland. When she realized that a similar fate was headed for Virginia, she worked alongside Democrats for Life and Virginia Anti Abortion Uprising to spread awareness and spark engagement with pro-lifers during the legislative session. This past summer, she collaborated with Thomas Hill to create a network called Virginia for Preborn Justice. The network was designed to establish grassroots organizations across the state of Virginia to inform pro lifers about the abortion amendment and encourage intentional activism within communities to uproot abortion culture. 

 

 

Dena Espenscheid

Leadership Institute

Over her twenty years of professional experience, Dena held a variety of positions in public policy organizations, advertising agencies, and political campaigns including, Coalition for a Strong America, National Ballot Access, American Majority, Open and Clean Government, Vote Yes for Life, and the National Abstinence Clearinghouse. Much of her work has been focused on grassroots organizing, and training volunteers and fellow staffers. She currently serves as Senior Director of Coalitions at the Leadership Institute. 

 

Beth Fox

Rehumanize International

Beth was born with a genetic code deemed incompatible with life. When abnormalities were discovered in utero, doctors recommended abortion. However, Beth’s mom bravely chose to give her chance to experience love and life even if it was fleeting. Today, Beth lives with a host of rare diseases, including a degenerative neuromuscular disorder, Turner syndrome, narcolepsy, two rare eye disorders that have caused her to be blind, and a number skeletal anomalies. Despite her sorted medical history, Beth has completed two Master’s degree in public health and development psychology. She worked as a tutor and lived independently until this past spring when a series of nine small strokes caused a rapid deterioration of her health. Today, Beth is in multiple system organ failure and relies on machines and medications to maintain many body processes. Her medical team is sure if she has a few months or, optimistically, a few years left. Beth, with the help of her loyal medical alert dog, is here to discuss some of the challenges of accessing life-affirming end-of-life care as young adult, but also to show that not only is it possible to live with chronic and terminal illness but to truly thrive.

 

Kelsey Hazzard

Secular Pro-Life

Kelsey Hazzard is a pro-life atheist with a legal background (BA in Psychology & Religious Studies from University of Miami, JD from University of Virginia). She founded Secular Pro-Life in 2009 and currently serves as Board President. She regularly provides insight into a variety of state and federal court cases and legislation pertaining to abortion. She practices law in southwest Florida, where she lives with her awesome teenagers.

 

Thomas Hill

Virginia for Preborn Justice

Thomas Hill is a college student at Liberty University and a pro-life organizer with Virginia for Preborn Justice. He has worked with a variety of organizations, including Students for Life, Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, Voices for Life, and Survivors. Currently, Thomas is focused on grassroots organizing against Virginia’s proposed abortion amendment and building a Virginia beyond abortion, where life is protected and valued from womb to tomb.

 

Michael J.

Rehumanize International

Michael J. is an educator, artist, and member of the board of Rehumanize International.

 

Rachel MacNair

Consistent Life Network

Rachel M. MacNair is an American sociologist and psychologist who adheres to the consistent life ethic. She is an activist against abortion and war, and has written against the culture of violence and the eating of meat. An expert on veteran psychology, she coined the term “Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress” (PITS), a form of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that may result from the action of killing. 

 

Maria Oswalt

Rehumanize International

Maria Oswalt is an artist and mother based in Atlanta, Georgia. A native of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Maria studied studio art, advertising, and mathematics at the University of Alabama. Her work as an activist, photographer, and graphic designer has been featured in The New York Times, the National Catholic Reporter, NBC News, Fox News, the BBC, and more. She currently serves as the creative director of Rehumanize International. 

 

 

Lauren Pope

Rehumanize International

When Lauren’s water broke at just 22 weeks pregnant, doctors gave her a choice: fight for her son’s life or let nature take its course. She chose to fight — and today, that tiny baby is a thriving young man. That experience transformed her, sparking a lifelong commitment to defending human dignity at every stage of life. 

For the past 20 years, Lauren has been a passionate advocate for the Consistent Life Ethic. She joined the board of Rehumanize International three years ago and now serves as Executive Director, bringing with her a deep conviction, a mother’s heart, and a steadfast belief in the power of radical empathy to transform culture.

Lauren is also a writer whose work explores the intersections of human dignity and public policy. She won the Create | Encounter Prose Contest in 2019 and has contributed to national conversations on immigration, artificial intelligence, abortion, and euthanasia.

 

Alex Schadenberg

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Alex Schadenberg is the Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and Chair of EPC-International. He is a leading voice on euthanasia and assisted suicide, author of Exposing Vulnerable People to Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, and co-producer of the documentaries The Euthanasia Deception and Fatal Flaws.

 

Caroline Smith

Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising

Caroline Taylor Smith is a leftist pro-life activist and the Executive Director for Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU). At age 27, Caroline is one of the youngest Executive Directors of a nationally-recognized pro-life non-profit. Caroline has worked for various organizations in the pro-life movement since 2016, and has traveled across the US and Europe fighting abortion. She holds degrees in both Strategic Communication and French from Calvin University. Caroline has mentored and trained young activists in the progressive pro-life movement during her time at PAAU and has been arrested multiple times for peacefully and nonviolently defending the preborn through direct action. She has been featured in POLITICO, Christian New Agency, Washington Post, The Pillar, and more. She currently resides in Washington, D.C. with her cat, Chica.

 

Shawn Zierke

Zierke Consulting Group

Shawn Zierke is a pro-life Christian with a health policy and management background (MPH in Health Management & Policy; MBA in Social Entrepreneurship, SHRM-CP, OSHA). She founded Zierke Consulting Group in 2016 and currently serves as its principal. She regularly advises pregnancy medical clinics and pro-life nonprofits on EOS Strategy, AAAHC accreditation, compliant medical billing, governance, and Title VII faith-based employment protections, with practical guidance on HIPAA/OSHA/CLIA readiness. She is based in Palm Bay Florida, where she and her husband of nearly 34 years enjoy a bustling crew of six children, 3 children in-laws, and four grandchildren.