The 27th Annual Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life
January 24th, 2026
The Pro-Life Mission After-Birth:
A Lifelong Devotion
Our 2026
Keynote Speaker
Jennie Bradley Lichter
President of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund
Jennie Bradley Lichter assumed the office of President of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund in February, 2025. In this capacity, she proudly directs the iconic organization committed to restoring a culture of life in the United States, most notably through the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., held around the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and through the growing State March for Life program.
As a longtime Marcher who began attending the National March as a college student in 2001, Jennie is humbled and honored by the opportunity to lead the March for Life. Jennie has wide-ranging legal and policy experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, including at the highest levels of the federal government. During the Trump Administration, Jennie served in the White House as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council (DPC) where she supervised rulemaking and policy efforts implicating a number of federal agencies, and led policy initiatives across the federal government to defend the dignity of life.
Prior to her White House service, Jennie worked on policy issues and federal judicial (including Supreme Court) confirmation efforts in the Office of Legal Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice. She previously served as in-house counsel for the Archdiocese of Washington. Early in her legal career, Jennie clerked for two federal appeals court judges and was an associate at the international law firm Jones Day.
Jennie formerly served as the Deputy General Counsel at The Catholic University of America. In addition to her legal work at Catholic University, Jennie also founded and directed The Guadalupe Project, the University’s campus-wide initiative to support and lift up pregnant and parenting students, staff, and faculty. She was a Fellow at the Center for Religious Liberty in the University’s Columbus School of Law.
Jennie graduated from the University of Notre Dame and from Harvard Law School, and earned an M.Phil in Theology & Religious Studies from the University of Cambridge in the UK. She and her husband, Brian, have three young children who love attending the March for Life.
Meet Our 2026 Panelists
President of Aging with Dignity
Jamie leads Aging With Dignity's advocacy efforts, to include developing strategic partnerships, leading Assisted Suicide watch, and engaging with AWD's community of donors, followers, and customers. He heads up the organization's Falls church office. He is a former consultant at a big-four accounting firm after four-and-a-half years in national security at the FBI. He holds an MBA from Oxford University and bachelor's degrees in Arabic and Chinese languages from the University of Notre Dame.
Jamie Towey
Dr. Alveda C. King, PhD
Lauren Castillo
Chief Mission and Revenue Officer at Bella Health + Wellness
With over a decade of experience in non-profit leadership, Lauren is a seasoned strategist in mission advancement, organizational growth, and sustaining faith-based initiatives in today's world.
Previously the National Director of Development and grassroots missionary for Students for Life of America, Lauren has led transformative campaigns and helped shape the national conversation around abortion, particularly with youth. Her leadership has fueled the growth of ministries committed to faith, family, and human dignity.
In a landmark moment, Lauren was personally invited by Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch to speak on behalf of women in Colorado on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court as the Dobbs case was being heard— an honor that speaks to her voice, witness, and impact in the national pro-life movement. Her work integrates bold spiritual conviction with practical expertise, empowering Catholic organizations to grow without compromising their first love: Christ.
Lauren holds honors degrees in Accounting and Theology from Regis University, where she completed her honors thesis on “The Role of Exorcism in the Modern World.”
Lauren lives in Colorado with her husband and their four children. In her free time, you’ll find her baking cookies, listening to good books, and discovering new parks with her kids!
Christina Bennett is a pro-life missionary and activist, who writes and speaks on behalf of the cause. Her passion stems from her powerful personal story. Christina was moments away from being aborted, but a miraculous encounter with a stranger changed her mothers mind and saved Christina’s life. Upon hearing this story in her 20s, Christina dedicated her life to ending abortion, serving in various leadership roles for pro-life organizations, including at the Justice House of Prayer in D.C., then as a Communications Director at an advocacy organization, and most recently as a Client Services Manager at a pregnancy resource center. She testified for the 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 including Fox News Primetime, The Christian Broadcasting Network, and radio stations nationwide. She is a member of the National Black Pro-life coalition, and she believes the greatest civil right is the right to life.
Christina lives in Connecticut with her husband and son where she serves as a Christian minister. Find Christina on Twitter at @blkprolifewoman, and Instagram at @blackprolifewoman.
Live Action News Correspondent
Christina Bennett
Panel Moderator
Catherine Hadro is the host of EWTN News In Depth, a weekly global news magazine program that examines world events through a Catholic lens. She has served EWTN in a variety of broadcast roles, including as the founding host of EWTN Pro-Life Weekly and as an anchor for major network coverage such as Pope Benedict XVI’s funeral, the March for Life, the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, and other special events.
Catherine’s reporting and commentary have been featured across national and international media. She has appeared on BBC, CNN, and Newsmax, and her work has been quoted by the Associated Press, Bloomberg, FoxNews.com, and additional outlets.
She lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband, Matthew, and their daughter.
Founding Host of EWTN Pro-Life Weekly
Catherine Hadro
Meet Our Breakout Speakers
Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. teaches Dogmatic and Moral Theology at the Dominican House of Studies and works as an Assistant Director of the Thomistic Institute. He was ordained a priest in 2016 and holds a doctorate from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). He is the author of several books and articles including Prudence: Choose Confidently, Live Boldly and Your Eucharistic Identity: A Sacramental Guide to the Fullness of Life. He is a regular contributor to several podcasts including Godsplaining and Catholic Classics.
Father Gregory Pine, O.P.
Sister Maria Frassati, SV is a proud New Englander from Waltham, MA, and studied pre-veterinary medicine and chemistry at the University of Vermont. After falling in love with the beauty of the human person through encountering the writings of St. John Paul II, she entered the Sisters of Life in 2014. She professed final vows on August 6th, 2022. Sr. Maria Frassati currently lives at the Visitation Mission in New York City, where she currently serves as the coordinator for our Co-Workers of Life mission, meeting and forming lay volunteers who help serve vulnerable pregnant mothers across the country. She loves reading, biking around the city, and perfecting her sourdough bread-making skills.
The Sisters of Life are a religious community of women founded in 1991 by John Cardinal O’Connor who take a fourth vow to protect and enhance the sacredness of human life. Immersed in Eucharistic prayer within a vibrant community life, their missions include caring for vulnerable pregnant women and their unborn children; inviting those wounded by abortion into the healing mercy of Jesus; fostering a culture of life through evangelization; retreat works; spiritual accompaniment of college students; and upholding the beauty of marriage and family life.
Sister Maria Frassati, SV
Fr. David Mary is a Franciscan Priest. He has been a Priest for over 29 years and a Franciscan Friar for almost 40 years. Originally from New York, Fr. David Mary has been involved in various ministries throughout the United States, including Hospital Chaplaincy, Parish Ministry, High School Chaplaincy, and Young Adult Ministry. For many years Fr. David Mary has been actively involved in various types of Pro-Life work including Teens American Life League, Operation Rescue, Helpers of God’s Precious Infants, Allen County Right to Life, and the day to day Pro-Life Ministry of praying outside clinics. Besides his work in Street Evangelization with young people, Fr. David Mary is the co-founder of Shepherds United, an ecumenical coalition established to Defend Marriage, the Unborn, and Religious Liberty.
Fr. David Mary lives his Capuchins Franciscan vocation as a hermit and itinerant preacher in the Diocese of Knoxville.
Father David Mary Engo, FFM
Fr. Stephen Fields, S.J., is a Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Systematic Theology at Georgetown University. He joined the faculty in 1993 and was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1986. Fr. Fields holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Yale University and a B.A. in English from the University of Oxford, along with degrees from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, Fordham University, and Loyola College.
An expert in philosophical theology and Christian thought, he has authored Analogies of Transcendence (2016), Being as Symbol (2000), and several scholarly articles. He teaches courses on Christian thought, John Henry Newman, Thomas Aquinas, Christian mysticism, the Catholic vision of love, and Natural Law.
Father Stephen Fields, SJ
Dr. Andrew Kubick is a Teacher and Faculty Mentor of Bioethics at Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School, Ethics Consultant at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, Senior Research Fellow for Public Policy at the Catholic Health Care Leadership Alliance, and Adjunct Instructor of Bioethics at the Catholic Institute of Technology and University of Mary.
He holds a BS in Education (Kutztown University of Pennsylvania), MAs in Philosophy and Theology (Holy Apostles College & Seminary), a PhD in Bioethics (Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum), and completed a Postdoctoral Ethicist Fellowship (National Catholic Bioethics Center).
Dr. Kubick’s first book — Transplanting the Womb: A Catholic Bioethical Analysis — was published by the National Catholic Bioethics Center. It received both an Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat, and was given an award by the Catholic Media Association. His writings have appeared in The Catholic Journal on Religious Freedom and Health Care, Dignitas, Ethics & Medics, National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, National Catholic Register, Public Discourse, and the St. John Paul II Journal of Bioethics. He has presented scholarly work at the annual conferences of the Acton Institute, American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Catholic Medical Association, Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity, Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, and elsewhere.
Dr. Kubick has appeared on numerous media outlets, including on Ave Maria in the Afternoon, Kresta in the Afternoon, Beacon of Truth with Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, Bioethics on Air, and EWTN Pro-life News Nightly.
Andrew S. Kubick, Ph.D., M.A.
Rebecca Kiessling has been an international pro-life speaker since 1995, speaking for various pro-life organizations, including right to life groups, crisis pregnancy center fundraisers, 40 Days for Life events, rallies, churches, high schools, universities, Students for Life, women’s conferences, attorney conferences, adoption events, and Catholic conferences and groups such as Magnigicat and Legatus, throughout North America, Europe, and Latin America.
Politically influential, she changed the heart of Gov. Rick Perry during his presidential campaign, as well as Newt Gingrich, and many legislators across the U.S., Canada and Europe. She’s also an attorney and mother.
She appeared in the following documentary films: The Citizens United film, “The Gift of Life with Gov. Mike Huckabee,” the “40” film, "The Matter of Life" on EWTN, “Conceived in Rape: From Worthless to Priceless,” “Except in Cases of Rape? 12 Stories of Survival,” and “Conceived in Rape and Other Exceptions.” Rebecca has appeared on Fox’s Huckabee, CNN’s Piers Morgan debating Gloria Allred, CBN’s 700 Club, Catholic TV’s “This is the Day,” ABC’s Good Morning America, EWTN’s Life on the Rock and Defending Life with Fr. Frank Pavone, “Facing Life Head On,” as well as the nationally-syndicated tv program “Extra.” Her story has been featured in Glamour Magazine and Marie Claire Magazine.
She’s also the poster child for Feminists for Life’s ad, “Did I Deserve the Death Penalty,” author of the Heritage House ’76 pamphlet “Conceived in Rape: A Story of Hope,” and the writer of, and subject of, numerous articles and blogs on LifeNews, Lifesitenews, and Live Action.
Rebecca Kiessling
Kathi Aultman, M.D., is a retired Board-Certified OB/GYN and an Associate Scholar with the Charlotte Lozier Institute. She is a member of the American Association of Prolife Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, the Florida Medical Association, and is a Life-Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She practiced medicine from 1981 to 2014 in Orange Park, Florida.
Dr. Aultman was the co-founder and co-director of the first Rape Treatment Center in Jacksonville, Florida, and performed sexual assault exams on women and children as a medical examiner for Duval and Clay Counties. She performed 1st trimester D&C with suction abortions and 2nd-trimester D&E’s. She also served as the Medical Director for Planned Parenthood of Northeast Florida, Inc. from 1981 to 1983.
Her experiences doing abortions, and those in her OB/GYN practice, led her to a prolife position. She has spoken nationally and internationally and has testified extensively on various pro-life issues before state and congressional bodies, state courts, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. She spoke at the 2019 Washington D.C. March for Life Rally and was the keynote speaker at the 2019 Rose Dinner following the special speaker, Vice President Pence. She has been interviewed by CBN, Live Action News, and Focus on the Family. She spoke to students at the 2020 and 2024 Cardinal O’Connor Conference for Life at Georgetown University and at Princeton and the University of Chicago in 2024. In 2022, she appeared on Dr. Ben Carson’s podcast, Common Sense.
She was the lead author of “Deaths and Severe Adverse Events after the Use of Mifepristone as an Abortifacient from September 2000 to February 2019” and is a co-author of “Mifepristone Adverse Events Identified by Planned Parenthood in 2009-2010 compared to those in the FAERS and FOIA.
Dr. Kathi Aultman, MD
As a native of Mexico, Pilar Vázquez Calva has first-hand experience with the strength and resilience of Mexican women. A licensed attorney in Mexico, she has witnessed the profound impact that truly pro-women organizations can have on women’s lives.
Pilar as a law student began working directly with women in prison in Mexico City, an experience that deepened her understanding of motherhood and womanhood under extremely challenging circumstances. She later joined Vifac, one of Mexico’s most prominent pro-women organizations, which operates nationwide to support women facing vulnerable pregnancies. At Vifac, Pilar contributed within the team of Vifac that provides housing, food, medical, psychological, and spiritual care, as well as vocational workshops that empower women to achieve financial independence. Vifac also assists women throughout the adoption process, offering comprehensive and compassionate support.
With over 14 years of experience at the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and within the Inter-American system, Pilar has worked closely with delegates to advance initiatives related to right to life, social justice, immigration, and human rights.
In 2020, Pilar founded Free and Sovereign Women (Mujeres Libres y Soberanas), an all-women think tank with a presence in the United States, Argentina, and Mexico. The organization generates and disseminates innovative ideas through press releases, digital campaigns, amicus briefs, academic presentations, and active participation in international forums. Its mission is to strengthen and amplify the female perspective in human rights debates. In recent years, its work has been featured in leading newspapers and on national and international television.
Pilar currently resides in Washington, D.C., with her husband.
Pilar Vázquez Calva
Emmjolee Mendoza Waters serves as the Director of the Death Penalty Abolition Program. Emmjolee is new to the CMN family, joining in August of 2023.
Emmjolee brings 20 years of experience in education, advocacy, and ministry with a particular focus on young adults. During Emmjolee’s tenure at The Catholic University of America, she helped build a culture of service and justice, rooted in Catholic Social Teaching. She created faith based programs that engaged young adults in direct service, in local and national advocacy, and in holistic formation.
Emmjolee has organized social justice advocacy and education programs around issues of hunger and homelessness, food insecurity, race and diversity. Emmjolee has extensive partnerships locally, nationally, and internationally; all focused on mutual relationship building.
She served as a Jesuit Volunteer in Belize for two years as a teacher and school librarian. She holds a Masters in Social Work from The National Catholic School of Social Service with a focus on social justice and social change. Emmjolee, her husband Larry, and their five kids reside in Washington, DC.
Emmjolee Mendoza Waters
Emma Waters is a Policy Analyst in the Center for Technology and the Human Person at The Heritage Foundation. Her work focuses on family, biotechnology, and reproductive medicine
Waters is a former Visiting Fellow with Independent Women’s Forum and a monthly contributor with World magazine.
Prior to this, she worked as the Coalitions Manager of American Moment and periodically cohosted their podcast, Moment of Truth. Previously, she worked as a Research Intern with the Institute for Family Studies and a Research Consultant for the Realignment Podcast. In 2021, she won the American Enterprise Institutes’ Young Scholars Award where she wrote and published an in-depth paper on child support policy in the state of Tennessee, including qualitative interviews with 25 nonresident fathers.
Her work may be found in First Things, Washington Post, Fox News, Newsweek, World Magazine, RealClear Policy, RealClear Health, The Federalist, the Institute for Family Studies, The Gospel Coalition, Problematic Women podcast, The American Conservative, The American Mind, The Daily Signal, and more. She graduated Valedictorian of Lee University with a double major in Political Science and Biblical & Theological Studies. You can find her on Twitter @emlwaters.
Emma Waters
Samuel D. Green serves as President & General Counsel at Reason for Life, a nonprofit ministry working to end abortion in America. In this role, Samuel delivers pro-life talks at churches and schools across the nation and has filed friend-of-the-court briefs in various cases—including the Supreme Court case that overturned Roe v. Wade.
Samuel previously served as an attorney at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), where he defended life and religious liberty. Samuel has also worked at a large law firm, on a presidential campaign’s legal team, and as a law clerk to the Honorable Raymond W. Gruender (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit). Samuel finished first in his class at Pepperdine University School of Law and obtained his undergraduate degree at UCLA.
Samuel has provided legislative testimony, preached sermons about the sanctity of life, and given presentations to numerous groups or their chapters (including 40 Days for Life, Students for Life of America, Live Action, Turning Point USA, Summit Ministries, TeenPact Leadership Schools, the Federalist Society, the St. Thomas More Society, and the Christian Legal Society).
Samuel has also participated in media interviews and published articles with various outlets, including Newsweek, The Hill, The Seattle Times, WORLD, The Federalist, and Washington Examiner.
Samuel Green
Schedule
8:00am - 9:30am Check-In
8:00am - 4:00pm Sponsorship Exhibits
8:15am - 9:15am Holy Hour
9:30am - 11:00am Welcome, Invocation Prayer, Keynote Address, and Presentation of the 16th Annual Rev. Thomas M. King, S.J. Award
11:10am - 2:30pm Breakout Sessions and Lunch
2:40pm - 4:00pm Panel Discussion
4:00pm - 4:15pm Closing Prayer & Adjournment
5:00pm - 6:00pm Mass for Life