Speakers
Jenifer Bowen
Iowa Right to Life's Executive Director loves working with the grassroots and is always on the road! She speaks at schools, colleges, churches, to civic organizations and other pro-life groups.
Jenifer is an experienced counselor and social media aficionado. Before becoming executive director, Bowen traveled across Iowa a great deal as IRTL's administrator and had a great deal of face time with the public. Feedback from the people she met led her to update and expand IRTL’s distribution and sales of educational materials at county fairs, church events, pro-life events, the IRTL Book Sales, Post Abortion Facilitator Training and more.
"The grassroots are hungry for ways to get involved," said Bowen. "When I cross paths with pro-lifers and I ask them if they would like to volunteer, no one has turned me down."
Bowen also spearheaded IRTL's outreach to the younger, media savvy generation on Facebook and Twitter. IRTL's Facebook page currently has more than 1,000 "fans", with dozens of people joining each week. This has been a successful new channel to increase volunteers and donors.
Although her name might not be familiar to some, her soft-tone phone voice, as comfortable as a baby’s blanket, is unmistakable to anyone who has called into the IRTL office. But don’t let that soft voice fool you. The 37 year-old Buffalo, New York native has a will of iron.
"Planned Parenthood’s preying on women for profit in Iowa must stop," said Bowen. "Iowa Right to Life will continue to expose Planned Parenthood of the Heartland’s brazenly unsafe path of initiating RU-486 (abortion pill) abortions without a doctor on site."
Bowen believes the future is bright. "We have strong pro-life legislators younger than me," she laughed. "We will work hard to elect more and support legislators who have been there longer, getting it done in the Iowa Legislature."
Bowen, who holds a B.A. in Counseling from Baptist Bible College in Clarks Summit, PA, has counseled women in crisis in both religious and secular institutions. Most recently, she has been a volunteer counselor at Alpha Women’s Center in Des Moines.
"Counseling pregnant women and the pregnancy resource centers are close to my heart," said Bowen. One of her favorite jobs at IRTL is preparing and sending the checks for the pregnancy resource centers and adoption agencies across Iowa after IRTL's Spring and Fall Book Sales.
Before IRTL, Bowen was Executive Administrator of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in Des Moines, handling everything from facility management to communications, to member recruitment and retention. Her ability to interact and work well with people of all creeds is a valuable asset in her new position.
The impact of Roe vs. Wade on her generation is not lost on Bowen, who was born just four months before the landmark decision legalizing abortion in the U.S.
"With parents who were mere teenagers at the time, I could have easily been an abortion statistic," she said. "There are a lot of people my age and younger saying, ‘Maybe God spared us for a reason. Perhaps this is why we are supposed to be involved."
"With parents who were mere teenagers at the time, I could have easily been an abortion statistic," she said. "There are a lot of people my age and younger saying, ‘Maybe God spared us for a reason. Perhaps this is why we are supposed to be involved."
Jenifer's visits generate excitement for pro-life efforts in your area. She will also do interviews with local newspapers and radio.
Want Jenifer in your town? Contact the IRTL office: 515.244.1012 or email us at: Iowa@IowaRTL.org
Or Contact Jenifer directly: 515.419.7246
Want Jenifer in your town? Contact the IRTL office: 515.244.1012 or email us at: Iowa@IowaRTL.org
Or Contact Jenifer directly: 515.419.7246