Suzanne Marks
Supporting Women for Years to Come
“I am a feminist and have been for as long as I can remember. In high school, my close friends and I used Title IX to start three women's sports teams – tennis, volleyball, and track – when funding only went to boys' sports. I was the first female scholar-athlete, with a 5.0 GPA and more varsity letters than any boy! After high school, I went on to study political science and economics in college.
"After graduation, I joined the Peace Corps and worked with hundreds of women entrepreneurs in Togo in West Africa. There, I learned that economic development was intrinsically linked to health – specifically reproductive health. I knew one woman who died at the age of 25 after a self-attempted abortion while she was pregnant with her fifth child. Another young woman I was close to nearly died from a self-attempted abortion. We had to travel nine hours by taxi to a doctor in the capital so she could get medical care. Unfortunately, these stories are not uncommon when there is a lack of access to birth control and safe methods for abortion. These experiences showed me what the lack of abortion services do to young women. They are essential life services and without access, a woman's health and livelihood are at risk.
"After the Peace Corps, I earned a master's in economics and a master's in public health. I worked in Philadelphia for the Family Planning Council as a researcher under two feminists – executive director Dorothy Mann and research director Kay Armstrong. While working with them, there were several times when we took off work to defend clinics. While my current work at the Centers for Disease Control has had me focused on tuberculosis for the past 20 years, I still volunteer for and donate to many feminist causes and have been on the board of Georgia NOW.
"I have been inspired by so many women over the years: Dorothy and Kay at FPC, Ellie Smeal of the Feminist Majority Foundation, Ellen Malcolm of EMILY's List, Heidi Hartmann of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood, Nancy Pelosi, Elizabeth Warren, Gloria Steinem, Eve Ensler, Martina Navratilova, and Billie Jean King are just a few of the women who have inspired me.
"Women consistently face oppression all across the world, and feminist leaders are needed to pull us up. I have confidence in women leaders to fix this and get things done. EMILY's List is a great way to fund female leaders, especially now. My gift is in support of EMILY's List's mission of electing Democratic pro-choice women. Those are the women we need in office, and I hope my contribution will be useful in supporting these women for years to come.”