Draft:Karyn Strickler

• Comment: Please remove all LLM-generated text; ideally you should start over from a blank slate without LLMs. We do not necessarily expect you to write perfect or polished English. If you need formatting help, see Help:Introduction to editing with VisualEditor and Help:Referencing for beginners. Note that merely rewording the existing LLM-generated text is unlikely to resolve the problem of LLM usage. Helpful Raccoon (talk) 06:10, 20 September 2026 (UTC)

---

Karyn Strickler is an American political organizer, political strategist, environmental advocate, reproductive-rights organizer and climate activist. Her career has included leadership roles in reproductive rights, environmental advocacy, political campaigns, women's candidate training and climate-focused electoral organizing.

Strickler served as executive director of the Maryland affiliate of the National Abortion Rights Action League (Maryland NARAL) from 1986 to 1992, including during the campaign that led to Maryland's 1991 abortion-rights law and its approval by voters in a 1992 referendum. She later served in leadership of the National Endangered Species Coalition and founded Fifty Plus One, an organization that trained pro-choice women in the campaign skills necessary to run for public office.

In 2005, Roll Call described Strickler as a "bona fide political strategist in her own right," citing her work with Maryland NARAL, the National Endangered Species Coalition and Fifty Plus One.

Strickler later founded Vote Climate U.S. PAC, which evaluates candidates on climate position, votes and leadership and produces a national voter guides and congressional climate scorecards.

Early life and education

Strickler grew up on a farm in Carroll County, Maryland. Clift and Brazaitis devote several pages of Madam President to Strickler's background and political career, including her upbringing and the influence of her mother's early feminism.

Strickler earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from McDaniel College and was a member of Pi Gamma Mu, an international social-science honor society.

Reproductive-rights advocacy

Strickler became executive director of Maryland NARAL in 1986 and led the organization through 1992, a period of intensive legislative and electoral activity over abortion rights in Maryland.

Carney provides an extended account of Strickler's leadership in Abortion Politics in American States. She describes Strickler as a "gifted grassroots organizer" and reports that Maryland NARAL's membership grew from approximately 700 to 12,000 over a six-year period.

Contemporary reporting by The Washington Post documented Strickler's role in Maryland abortion politics, including disputes over hospital abortion policies, legislative proposals and Maryland NARAL's electoral strategy.

A major turning point came after abortion-rights legislation was blocked by an eight-day filibuster in the Maryland Senate in 1990. Maryland NARAL sought to change the composition of the Senate before the following legislative session.

The organization targeted three incumbent Democratic senators and backed three primary challengers: Patricia Sher against Margaret Schweinhaut, Mary Boergers against S. Frank Shore, and Gloria Lawlah against Frank Komenda. The Washington Post reported that Maryland NARAL conducted a three-month canvassing operation in the targeted districts. Strickler described the organization's objective: "I have hopes of creating a filibuster-proof state Senate."

All three Maryland NARAL-backed candidates won their Democratic primaries. Carney describes the victories and their political consequences. Clift and Brazaitis report that Strickler recruited challengers from the Maryland House of Delegates, wrote campaign plans, helped implement them and served on the campaigns' steering committees.

The campaign produced the pro-choice Senate supermajority Maryland NARAL had sought, making the Senate filibuster-proof on abortion legislation. A later Washington Post account explicitly characterized the Maryland NARAL PAC's efforts as having "achieved a pro-choice super-majority in the Senate."

In 1991, the Maryland General Assembly enacted legislation protecting abortion rights. The Washington Post and The New York Times covered the legislation and the political struggle surrounding its passage.

The legislation was subsequently petitioned to referendum. Maryland voters approved Question 6 in 1992, preserving the abortion-rights law. Carney describes the statewide coalition Maryland FOR Choice, whose steering committee included Maryland NARAL, the Maryland State Teachers Association and the American Civil Liberties Union. The coalition invested heavily in advertising and grassroots organizing and mobilized thousands of volunteers during the referendum campaign.

Strickler remained involved in reproductive-rights advocacy after leaving Maryland NARAL. In 1998, The Washington Post identified her as executive director and principal founder of Fifty Plus One and reported that she had led the successful effort to defeat Maryland legislation described by supporters as a ban on "partial-birth abortion."

Fifty Plus One and women in political office

Strickler founded Fifty plus One in 1994 to train women who supported abortion rights in the practical skills necessary to run for elected office.

As Strickler explained to National Journal, the name referred to the number of votes needed to win an election, women's approximately 51 percent share of the population, and the proportion of legislative seats the organization believed women should hold.

In April 1996, National Journal published an article by Carney devoted to Fifty plus One. Carney described it as a "small but growing" nonprofit that recruited and trained women for local, state and national office. More than 300 women had participated in its training programs since the previous fall.

Carney identified Strickler as the organization's executive director and principal founder and as a former grassroots political organizer, abortion-rights activist and Maryland NARAL executive director. Strickler said, "There aren't enough organizations training women for public office to meet the demand."

Fifty plus One initially offered programs in Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia. Its training emphasized practical campaign skills, including message development, grassroots organizing, voter contact and fundraising. National Journal reported that the candidate-training program was bipartisan but limited to women who supported abortion rights.

By the time Clift and Brazaitis examined the organization in Madam President, Strickler had trained approximately 500 women over four years. The book traces the organization's origins in part to her experience in the 1990 Maryland Senate elections, which convinced her that effective campaign skills could be taught.

Clift and Brazaitis describe Fifty plus One's curriculum as focusing on message development and delivery, grassroots organization and voter contact, and fundraising. They also discuss Strickler's difficulties obtaining institutional support, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend's initial agreement to serve on its advisory board and Betty Friedan's participation in one of its training sessions.

Strickler told the authors that prospective female candidates needed "training, technical support, and the money to win." The book also discusses U.S.-supported political training by Strickler for women in Botswana.

Environmental advocacy

After her Maryland NARAL work, Strickler joined the National Endangered Species Coalition and participated in national advocacy surrounding the Endangered Species Act. The Washington Post reported her appointment as campaign director in 1993. She subsequently served as executive director, a role independently noted by Roll Call.

The Associated Press covered the coalition's advocacy during the congressional debate over reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act. In a December 28, 1993 article later published by the Hartford Courant and other newspapers, Strickler was identified with the Endangered Species Coalition, described as a lobbying organization for dozens of environmental groups. Asked about the expected congressional battle, she said, "It will be very close."

In 1994, The Christian Science Monitor identified Strickler as campaign director of the Endangered Species Coalition, which it described as representing approximately 125 environmental, scientific and business organizations, in an article about the recovery of the bald eagle and the effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act.

Madam President also discusses this stage of Strickler's career, identifying her leadership of the National Endangered Species Coalition after her Maryland NARAL work.

In 2004, Strickler ran for the national board of the Sierra Club during a contentious election over the organization's direction. Roll Call covered her candidacy and criticism of corporate influence and funding within the environmental movement. The Chronicle of Philanthropy, in "Hostile Takeover or Rescue?", also examined her candidacy, her previous work with the National Endangered Species Coalition and her arguments for changes in the Sierra Club's approach.

Political and campaign work

During Chris Van Hollen's 2002 campaign for Maryland's 8th congressional district, Strickler served as Finance Director during the Democratic primary and Volunteer Director during the general election. A 2006 Connection Newspapers article independently identified her as Van Hollen's finance director.

In 2005, Roll Call examined Strickler's political career in connection with Allan J. Lichtman's prospective campaign for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate. It described her as a "bona fide political strategist in her own right" and summarized her work with Maryland NARAL, the National Endangered Species Coalition and Fifty Plus One. Strickler was one of Lichtman's principal advisers during his Senate campaign.

Strickler has also provided training in grassroots organizing, fundraising and campaign skills internationally. Madam President discusses her U.S.-supported work training women in Botswana to run for political office.

The "Do Nothing Strategy"

Strickler developed a critique of progressive political organizations that she called the "Do Nothing Strategy." She argued that dependence on foundations and institutional funding could encourage advocacy organizations to favor compromise, incrementalism and access to political insiders rather than fundamental political change.

Historian Allan J. Lichtman discussed the concept in White Protestant Nation: The Rise of the American Conservative Movement, identifying Strickler as a former director of the National Endangered Species Coalition and describing the "Do Nothing Strategy" as her characterization of the tendency of foundation-dependent progressive organizations to favor compromise, pragmatism and incremental reform.

Television

Strickler produced and hosted Climate Challenge, a Montgomery County public-television program focused on climate change.

Climate advocacy

Strickler is the founder and president of Vote Climate U.S. PAC, a political action committee focused on climate change and electoral politics.

Vote Climate developed national voter guides evaluating candidates for federal office on climate policy and a congressional climate scorecard.

In 2018, Vox examined the methodology behind Vote Climate's national voter guide, including its evaluation of incumbents and challengers using voting records, public positions and evidence of climate leadership.

Forbes reported on Vote Climate in connection with the 2018 midterm elections.

In 2019, ClimateWire/E&E News identified Strickler as Vote Climate's founder and president in reporting on climate policy in the Democratic presidential contest.

Inside Climate News examined Strickler's candidate-evaluation methodology at greater length in 2022. The publication discussed Vote Climate's consideration of candidates' public statements, legislation, speeches, policy proposals and other evidence of climate leadership. Strickler told the publication, "You have to make public statements that show it is a top priority."

The publication also discussed Vote Climate's differing evaluations of Democratic members of Congress and Strickler's argument that a partisan congressional majority did not necessarily constitute a majority committed to sufficiently strong climate action.

Personal life and athletics

Strickler is married to Allan J. Lichtman, Distinguished Professor of History at American University.

She has competed in endurance sports, swimming, CrossFit and powerlifting. She completed the 140.6-mile ChesapeakeMan/Endurance Festival triathlon, consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bicycle ride and marathon, and won her age group.

At the 2024 Maryland Senior Olympics, Strickler won a silver medal in the 500-meter freestyle and a bronze medal in the 100-meter breaststroke, qualifying for the 2025 National Senior Games.

In the 2025 CrossFit Open, Strickler finished 21st worldwide and 11th in the United States in the Women 65-69 scaled division.

She competed at the 2025 National Senior Games in Des Moines, Iowa, including in swimming and powerlifting, and won a silver medal in powerlifting. Official National Senior Games documents list Strickler in the Women's Raw Masters 3B (65-69) 82.5 kg push/pull division and in swimming events.

External links

• Vote Climate U.S. PAC
• Karyn Strickler at Common Dreams

Category:American women activists Category:McDaniel College alumni Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people)