Mark Dann ’97

Director of Government Affairs, Freedom From Religion Foundation

Mark Dann has over a decade of experience executing successful advancement of public policy legislative agendas at the federal, state, and international level. He is currently the Director of Governmental Affairs at the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “We’re the largest freethought organization in the United States and work to educate the public about nontheism and to defend the constitutional principle of separation between state and church,” he said. “My job is to advance our legislative agenda on Capitol Hill and build a strong coalition of religious and nonreligious groups to go up against a well- funded opposition.”

He has also worked on democracy development projects in Moldova and Iraq, and served in the US Peace Corps in Crimea, Ukraine. Mark is on the Victory Fund Campaign Board which helps to endorse, raise funds for, and steward LGBTQ candidates for political office.

My MPE Memory (1996): “During the Mock Political Convention my team and I were supporting Bob Dole for President. We had to figure out a way to convey our ideas in a quick and simple way to a more liberal audience and not deviate from the Dole campaign. When I supported the Dole campaign, it helped me to speak from and understand conservative ideals without surrendering my values.”

Photo: Former Senator and U.S. presidential candidate Robert Dole (KS) with Mark Dann ’97.