4 for Life and Family

A big ‘thank you’ to all who responded to our call over the past two days.  Our campaign is picking up steam and, with your continued help, we will reach our goal by next week.

By your support, LifeSiteNews is growing.  As Michael O’Brien says in our new video, “I think you (LifeSiteNews) are on the verge of a quantum leap” (in growth and influence).

We have been blessed to be able to add much needed new LifeSiteNews team members over the past two months. It is not easy finding just the right type of people who can take on the demanding tasks of this unique mission – but we found them.

These wonderful folks are going to be on the front lines of our work to spread the truth about the most important issues in the world.

Let me introduce you to our new team members:

This summer, Clare Maagad joined us as our new U.S. coordinator to replace the always cheerful Matthew Anderson, who was invaluable in setting up and managing our our US office and has moved on to a teaching position in Wisconsin. 

Clare was born in the Philippines, raised in the U.S., and is a graduate of Ave Maria University in Florida.  She comes having spent the last few years in higher education administration. The organization, management, and leadership experience she brings to LifeSiteNews has allowed her to fit into her demanding new position with ease.

Johanna Dasteel comes to us from American Life League and will be our part-time correspondent for the U.S. West Coast where she recently moved. She was the Congressional Liaison at ALL and also worked on the ground level with activists on rhetoric and strategies for winning back the right to life for the pre-born and defunding Planned Parenthood.  Johanna’s experience in the pro-life movement has already made her an invaluable addition to our team.

Susanna Rose is a literature major and blogger from Atlanta, GA and was raised in a well-connected Evangelical family deeply involved in the pro-life cause for many years.  Coincidentally, in the early 1980s I was involved in a lot of pro-life activism in Toronto with her mother, and other evangelicals, who were members of the Christian Action Council. Susanna is also reporting to us part-time and will be bringing a welcome perspective to our reports from her Evangelical background.  She is the mother of three children, with a fourth on the way!

Rebekah O’Brien, niece of Michael O’Brien, and a resident of Lisbon, New York, has just started as our social media coordinator. There has been an overwhelming need for an additional person on staff to take on this task because of the massive growth of our presence on Facebook and Twitter. Rebekah is a spunky, lovely young lady who feels right at home in this new role because of her extensive social media experience.

We have started the process of bringing on board an Australian correspondent to cover the swelling amount of news in that region dealing with life and family issues.  Jason Rushton, our previous Australian journalist, has entered a seminary, which for many of us here is wonderful news. We will miss not only his excellent reports, but also his engaging Australian accent.

And, we are in the final stages of hiring a new full-time journalist for the Washington D.C. area to replace long-time Washington correspondent, Kathleen Gilbert, who is moving on to something extra special.  More on Kathleen in a later letter…

In addition to covering what is going on in U.S. politics and the upcoming election, our new D.C. correspondent is also responsible for the major pro-life and pro-family events that occur in the region surrounding the nation’s capital. 

With these talented and dedicated new LifeSiteNews team members, we are taking the next step in being able to handle more crucial tasks requiring our attention.

Most important, we will be able to cover more of the stories that often had to be set aside because there were not enough journalists.

And you, our readers, will be the beneficiaries of this strengthening of the LifeSiteNews team.

At the same time, I have to add that we are entirely dependent upon you to be able to cover the wages of these new, carefully chosen and wonderful LSN truth warriors.

Help us to continue the momentum of increasing, positive influence of LifeSiteNews in the world!

Thank you for your support.

For the Culture of Life,

Steve Jalsevac
Managing Director
LifeSiteNews.com