By Yoshua Rizk

For several former SBA Pro-Life America interns, their internship became more than a temporary opportunity: it became the beginning of a full-time job working to end abortion. Former interns who now work for SBA and its family of organizations said they were drawn back by the organization’s mission, leadership, credibility, and commitment to defending unborn children and supporting women and families.

During my internship with SBA, I sat down with some of our former interns, now full-time staff, to learn about their journey:

Christian Rubio, Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Political Affairs, assists the political affairs team with candidate research, endorsements, and campaign meetings. Rubio interned with Government Affairs in spring 2022 while studying politics at The Catholic University of America.

Rubio said what inspired him to come back was “the level of respect and credibility that SBA has in the political world, whether with members of Congress on the Hill or candidates.” Members of Congress are known for taking SBA’s endorsements and positions on votes seriously, he said. Rubio also took inspiration from his family and pro-life heroes like Pope St John Paul II as major drivers in his desire to dedicate his time to the pro-life movement.

Billy Valentine’s connection to SBA stretches back even further. Valentine is the Vice President of Political Affairs and manages SBA’s government affairs team, which consists of the federal, state, and political affairs teams. He is also on the executive leadership team.

Valentine grew up in the pro-life movement, with both his parents working in the movement on the policy and grassroots sides. Growing up in the D.C. area, he knew of SBA and became the first male intern while in high school in 2003. At the time, the office consisted of a mere three people, and his work was mostly processing donations and behind-the-scenes tasks.

Over a decade later, after graduating from Franciscan University with a degree in legal studies and years of campaign work, Valentine recalled his attraction to SBA: “I really loved SBA because it is at the intersection of policy and politics: leveraging pro-life politics to get policy wins and leveraging policy fights to get political wins.” He felt this intersection to be most exemplified in Marjorie Dannenfelser, SBA’s President, who he sees as a fearless warrior on both the political and policy fronts.

That same sense of mission also brought Catherine Young back to the organization after her internship and work with Marjorie. Young is a Directory Recruiter and Conference Manager for Her PLAN, an initiative of SBA working to strengthen the pro-life safety net for abortion-vulnerable women. Her work involves recruiting organizations that have resources to help grow the pro-life safety net.

Young interned for SBA with the development team in the summer of 2024 while majoring in communications at Marymount University in Arlington. She returned right after graduation, inspired by “witnessing Marjorie Dannfesler and our leadership during the 2024 election.”

Growing up, Young watched Marjorie appear frequently on EWTN, speaking out about the pro-life issue, and defending the unborn. Young always looked up to Marjorie as a hero for the pro-life issue and said that admiration deepened after her internship.

Anna Stephens also turned her internship experience into a full-time role centered on supporting women and sharing their stories. Stephens is Her PLAN’s Marketing and Communications Director, a role which involves developing and executing marketing, traditional media, and communications strategy for the team. She also leads the , which equips women who have chosen life and the pro-life safety net providers who have supported them to share their stories of courage and hope in the media.

Stephens feels strongly that “every unborn child and his or her mother is made in the image and likeness of God and has inherent dignity. Every life is precious and worth defending. Every mom is worthy of support.”

Stephens returned to SBA after interning in 2020 and learning that 60% of women would have chosen life had they felt like they had more options, something Pope St John Paul II, one of her inspirations, often noted.

Elyse Gaitan found a more academic connection through the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI), the research & education arm of SBA. Gaitan is a Research Associate at CLI, which works with more than 70 scholars to share science and statistics for life. Her work includes collecting state data on abortion reporting, supporting scholar projects, and writing papers.

Gaitan interned with Her PLAN in summer 2021. She remained passionate about the movement following her internship and says one of the biggest inspirations to return came after meeting Chuck Donovan, founder and former President of CLI.

For Kateri Brown, the draw is SBA’s focus and results-oriented approach: “SBA puts its all in every election that it is involved in,” Brown noted. Brown is the Grants and Foundations Manager in the development department and works on everything from grant applications and promotional material to strategies and proposals.

Brown interned for SBA in winter 2019 after graduating with a degree in theology and philosophy from Thomas Aquinas College in California. The internship eventually transitioned to a full-time position.

Growing up in a devout Catholic family that prayed in front of abortion clinics and attended pro-life rallies, Brown said life was always an important issue for her family. SBA’s single-issue focus was particularly appealing because it never placed the life issue on the back burner.

For these former interns, SBA became more than a place to gain professional experience. The path from internships to full-time roles shows how the organization’s mission, leadership, and community continue to inspire young professionals to dedicate their lives to the pro-life movement. If you are interested in interning with us, use this link to apply.