Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner
Kristin Rowe-FinkbeinerExecutive DirectorMomsRising.org
When
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner’s first child was born, she left her job as political and field director of a political action committee in Washington State to care for him. While she worked part-time from home, Kristin began researching and writing about mothers, women, and family policies in the US. She found that many mothers faced common issues in caring for their children and concerns for economic security. Kristin discovered devastating statistics about pay gaps between men, and mothers, as well as shared struggles with skyrocketing costs of health and child care: "When this many people are having the same problems at the same time, we have a national structural issue that needs to be addressed, not an epidemic of personal failings." Kristin’s writing on family policy in the US caught the attention of grassroots activist and MoveOn.org co-founder Joan Blades. Together they wrote
The Motherhood Manifesto to encourage parents’ involvement in advocating for legislation and cultural change to address work-family balance, healthy children, and women’s equality. Kristin believes that, in contrast to politicians who may be driven by the election cycle or the media who are driven by the news cycle, parents have a long-term outlook on family-friendly policies, clean energy, global warming, and health care reform. Their perspective on these issues, according to Kristin, is essential to forming policies that will benefit future generations of Americans.
Kristin is the executive director of MomsRising.org, an online-based organization with more than 160,000 members. MomsRising, which Kristin and Joan Blades co-founded in 2006, arms its members with important information about family-friendly policies in the US and creates a variety of avenues for online and on-the-ground activism. The organization sponsors national campaigns that enable members to participate in demonstrations from any location. Their campaigns have offered powerful visuals that illustrate how many people are truly affected by lawmakers' votes. A former freelance journalist who won an award for excellence in journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2006, Kristin is the author of the award-winning book The F-Word: Feminism In Jeopardy. She holds a bachelor’s degree with a focus in political economy and biochemistry from Evergreen State College.
For more on Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner:
Candidates Need to Address Family and Healthcare Issues
By Cindy Krischer Goodman, Miami Herald
October 8, 2008
Some Moms Are Asking: Would Palin Help Us as VP?
By Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press
September 30, 2008
Combing Through Palin's Caregiving Record
By Allison Stevens, Huffington Post
September 25, 2008
Moms: Why So Mum Palin?
NewsChannel 8
September 24, 2008
Moms' Rights Group Wants Stage this Election Season
By Kathryn Lindsay Dobies, Medill Reports
September 24, 2008
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