Marjorie Dannenfelser
Quick Facts
Biography
Marjorie Jones Dannenfelser is President of the Susan B. Anthony List, an American political organization that seeks to advance pro-life women in politics. She was brought into the organization as its executive director in 1993, shortly after its founding.
Activism
Ardently pro-choice as a college student, Marjorie Jones was the "pro-choice chair" of the Duke University College Republicans. But a summer spent in a Heritage Foundation house for Republican interns changed that, when a "bitter schism erupted between social conservatives and libertarians over a pornographic video." This dispute led to her conversion to Catholicism and the founding of the Susan B. Anthony List, according to a 2010 Washington Post profile.
Prior to founding the Susan B. Anthony List, Dannenfelser was the staff director of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus and worked for U.S. House Representative Alan Mollohan (D-WV), whom the SBA List later worked to defeat in the 2010 Democratic primary. Mollohan was defeated in the primary by the pro-life Mike Oliverio.
She began running the SBA List in 1993 out of her home in Arlington, Virginia, after SBA List founder Rachel MacNair brought her on board as the first experienced political activist to join the group. Dannenfelser was soon joined by Jane Abraham and the two led SBA List from 1993 to 2006 when Dannenfelser assumed both the chairman and president positions. The organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., lobbies lawmakers and spends millions of dollars per year supporting candidates.
In August 2013 Newsmax magazine named Dannenfelser one of the "25 Most Influential Republican Women", citing her work as SBA List president.
In September 2016 Dannenfelser agreed to become Donald Trump's campaign Pro-Life Coalition leader despite of the controversies surrounding Donald Trump.
Personal life
Marjorie Jones was born and raised in Greenville, North Carolina. She grew up as an Episcopalian and attended Duke University. She later converted to Roman Catholicism. She says her conversion was partly motivated by the Catholic Church's emphasis on the Virgin Mary and the "feminine genius" she represents.
She and her husband, Marty Dannenfelser, live in Arlington, Virginia with their five children.