Mark Kennedy Shriver

Last updated
Jeanne Ripp
(m. 1992)
Mark Kennedy Shriver
Mark Shriver.jpg
Shriver in January 2013
Member of the MarylandHouseofDelegates
from the 15th district
In office
1995 January 8, 2003
Relations Kennedy family
Children3
Parent(s) Sargent Shriver
Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Alma mater
OccupationPolitician, activist

Mark Kennedy Shriver (born February 17, 1964) is an American Democratic politician who served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for two consecutive terms, from 1995 to 2003.

Contents

Since 2014, he has served as President of Save the Children Action Network, [1] where he campaigns to end child mortality. He is also Senior Vice President of U.S. Programs & Advocacy of Save the Children. [2]

Early life and education

Shriver was born at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. He is part of the Kennedy political family, since his mother was Eunice Mary Kennedy. He may also be considered to be a part of the "Shriver political family", since his ancestor David Shriver was a delegate of Frederick County, Maryland who signed the Maryland Constitution and Bill of Rights at Maryland's Constitutional Convention of 1776. His father is Sargent Shriver, the first director of the Peace Corps upon its establishment by President John F. Kennedy on March 1, 1961, a former ambassador to France and the 1972 Democratic vice presidential candidate. Mark Shriver has written a memoir about his father, A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver. [3] In 2013, Shriver won a Christopher Award for the book. In 2016, he wrote a second book, Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis. [4]

His sister, Maria Shriver, is a former journalist and the former First Lady of California (she was married to former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger until mid-year 2011). His brother, Bobby Shriver, served as a city council member and mayor of Santa Monica, California.

Shriver attended high school at the Georgetown Preparatory School, in North Bethesda, Maryland, and graduated in 1982. [5] Afterward, he earned a bachelor's degree from the College of the Holy Cross in 1986, and a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University in 1993.

Shriver's godfather is former professional tennis player Donald Dell. [6]

Career

From 1989 to 1994, he was a member of the Maryland Juvenile Justice Advisory Council. Starting in 1991, he also served on the board of directors of the Public Justice Center. From 1991 to 1992, he served on the Maryland Governor's Task Force on Alternative Sanctions to Incarceration. From 1994 to 1995, he served on the Maryland Governor's Commission on Service.

In 1994, he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, the lower house of the Maryland state legislature, representing Montgomery County, Maryland, District 15, and was reelected in 1998. He did not seek reelection in 2002 and was succeeded in that post by Brian Feldman.

In addition to serving as a delegate, he worked on the Task Force on the Maryland Prepaid-Tuition Savings Program in 1996, and on the Task Force to Study the Governance, Coordination, and Funding of the University System of Maryland from 1998 to 1999. He was a Founder and Executive Director of The Choice Program, an at-risk youth intervention project of the Shriver Center at University of Maryland, Baltimore County established in 1987. He then served on the Advisory Board on After-School Opportunity Programs from 1999 to 2003. From 2000 to 2001, he served on the Judith P. Hoyer Blue Ribbon Commission on Early Child Care and Education.

In 2002, he ran for U.S. Representative from the 8th Congressional District of Maryland, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by Chris Van Hollen. Van Hollen received 43.5% of the vote to Shriver's 40.6%. [7]

Shriver joined Save the Children in 2003, serving as Senior Vice President for U.S. Programs until 2013. In that capacity, he created and oversaw the agency's early childhood education, literacy, health, and emergency preparedness and response programs in the United States.

As president of Save the Children Action Network, he is working to build bipartisan political will to increase access to early-childhood education in the United States and to end preventable deaths of mothers and children around the world. Shriver told The Washington Post in 2016: "We're actually engaged in elections, and we're trying to support candidates who are good on [kids'] issues. And we're going to try and defeat those who aren't. So we want to be the NRA for kids. We want to be a movement, but we want to have political juice as well." [8]

In 2021, Shriver became the President of Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School. [9]

Personal life

Mark Shriver is a member of both the Shriver and Kennedy families. On June 26, 1992, Shriver married Jeanne Ripp (born 1965), territory manager for American Express Travel Related Services. [10] Shriver resides in Bethesda, Md., with his wife Jeanne and their three children. [11] [12] [13]

Awards and honors

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennedy family</span> American political family

The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from County Wexford, Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy became the first Kennedy elected to public office, serving in the Massachusetts state legislature until 1895. At least one Kennedy family member served in federal elective office from 1947, when P. J. Kennedy's grandson John F. Kennedy became a member of Congress from Massachusetts, until 2011, when Patrick J. Kennedy II retired as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Rhode Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eunice Kennedy Shriver</span> American philanthropist (1921–2009)

Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver was an American philanthropist and a member of the Kennedy family. She was the founder of the Special Olympics, a sports organization for persons with intellectual disabilities. For her efforts on behalf of disabled people, Shriver was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sargent Shriver</span> American diplomat, politician and activist

Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. was an American diplomat, politician, and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family. Shriver was the driving force behind the creation of the Peace Corps, and founded the Job Corps, Head Start, VISTA, Upward Bound, and other programs as the architect of the 1960s War on Poverty. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for vice president in the 1972 presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Shriver</span> American journalist and author (born 1955)

Maria Owings Shriver is an American journalist, author, a member of the Kennedy family, former First Lady of California, and the founder of the nonprofit organization The Women's Alzheimer's Movement. She was married to former governor of California and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, from whom she filed for divorce in 2011 and which was finalized in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Van Hollen</span> American lawyer and politician (born 1959)

Christopher Van Hollen Jr. is an American attorney and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Maryland since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Van Hollen served as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 8th congressional district from 2003 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Shriver</span> American activist and attorney (born 1954)

Robert Sargent Shriver III is an American activist, attorney, and journalist. He was a member of the Santa Monica City Council from 2004 to 2012, serving as mayor pro tem in 2006 and as mayor during part of 2010. A member of the Kennedy family, he is a nephew of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, and former U.S. senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Shriver</span> American non-profit executive (born 1959)

Timothy Perry Shriver is an American disability rights activist, film producer, and former educator who has been Chairman of Special Olympics since 1996 and is the founder of UNITE. He is a member of the Kennedy family as the third child of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and Sargent Shriver, who helped found the Peace Corps.

Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver is an American activist for people with intellectual disabilities. In 1989, he founded Best Buddies International, an international organization that helps people with intellectual disabilities to find employment and social opportunities. Through his mother, he is a nephew of World War II casualty Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Senator Ted Kennedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connie Morella</span> American politician (born 1931)

Constance Morella is an American politician and diplomat. She represented Maryland's 8th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 2003. She served as Permanent Representative from the U.S. to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 2003 to 2007. She is on American University's faculty as an Ambassador in Residence for the Women & Politics Institute. She was appointed to the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) by President Barack Obama in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Djerejian</span> American diplomat

Edward Peter Djerejian is a former United States diplomat who served in eight administrations from John F. Kennedy to Bill Clinton (1962–94.) He served as the United States Ambassador to Syria (1988–91) and Israel (1993–94), Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan and Deputy Press Secretary of Foreign Affairs (1985–1986), and was Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (1991–1993.) He was the founding director of Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy (1994-2022) He is a senior fellow at the Middle East Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is on the board of trustees of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Djerejian was elected chairman of Occidental Petroleum Corporation's board of directors (2013–2015). Djerejian is the author of the book Danger and Opportunity: An American Ambassador's Journey Through the Middle East

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgetown Preparatory School</span> Jesuit college-preparatory school near Washington, D.C.

Georgetown Preparatory School is a Jesuit college-preparatory school in North Bethesda, Maryland for boys in ninth through twelfth grade. It has a 93-acre campus. It is the only Jesuit boarding school in the United States. It is in the district of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

Sherrie Rollins Westin is an American businesswoman. She is the president of Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization that produces the television series Sesame Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David K. E. Bruce</span> American politician

David Kirkpatrick Este Bruce was an American diplomat, intelligence officer and politician. He served as ambassador to France, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the United Kingdom, the only American to be all three.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas G. Bergeron</span>

Doug Bergeron is a Senior Advisor to GTCR, a leading private equity firm based in Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Kennedy Smith</span> American diplomat (1928–2020)

Jean Ann Kennedy Smith was an American diplomat, activist, humanitarian, and author who served as United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1993 to 1998. She was a member of the Kennedy family, the eighth of nine children, and youngest daughter, born to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald. Her siblings included President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Rosemary Kennedy, and Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver. She was also a sister-in-law of Jacqueline Kennedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 United States Senate election in Maryland</span> Election for U.S. senator from Maryland

The 2016 United States Senate election in Maryland took place on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Maryland, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland</span>

The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the eight U.S. representatives from the state of Maryland, one from each of the state's eight congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on April 26.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yvonne Maddox</span> American academic

Yvonne T. Maddox is an American academic who currently works as vice president for research at the Uniformed Services University. She was previously the acting director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Her career at the National Institutes of Health also includes previous leadership roles as acting deputy director of the National Institutes of Health and deputy director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mater Dei School (Bethesda, Maryland)</span> Independent school in Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Mater Dei is an elementary school for boys grades 1 through 8, conducted by Catholic laymen, in Bethesda, Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 United States Senate election in Maryland</span> Election for U.S. senator from Maryland

The 2022 United States Senate election in Maryland was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent Maryland. The Democratic and Republican primaries were held on July 19, 2022.

References

  1. "Our Leadership". savethechildrenactionnetwork.org. Save the Children Action Network. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  2. "Leadership and Trustees". savethechildrenactionnetwork.org. Save the Children Action Network. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  3. "A Good Man". Kirkus Reviews. March 13, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  4. "Pilgrimage by Mark K. Shriver". Kirkus Reviews. November 29, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  5. "Notable Alumni". Georgetown Preparatory School. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  6. Brennan, Christine (August 26, 2009). "Keeping Score" . Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  7. Maryland State Archives -- 2002 8th District Primary Election Results
  8. Heim, Joe (July 1, 2016). "The president of the Save the Children Action Network on getting political juice". The Washington Post Magazine. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  9. Zimmerman, Mark (9 November 2021). "Mark Shriver named as first lay president of Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School, and Ana Chapa is school's new executive vice president". Catholic Standard . Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  10. "American Experience | The Kennedys | Kennedy Family Tree | PBS". American Experience . PBS. October 2, 2003. Archived from the original on March 13, 2009.
  11. "Kennedy Family Tree". ABC News. 2024.
  12. "Mark Shriver To Be Commencement Speaker, Bringing Focus on Faith and Service". emu.edu. Eastern Mennonite University. January 10, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  13. "you gotta go internal to get eternal". tumblr.com. May 22, 1994. Retrieved April 5, 2019.