Six Portraits in Six Days: Nancy Keenan

Day six in my Six Portraits in Six Days series is Nancy Keenan, president of the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL). In May of 2012 Keenan announced that she would step down as president of NARAL but still continue her work with other women’s health groups. During her time at NARAL Keenan fought diligently for women's access to healthcare and birth control. In 2006 Keenan was listed as one of the 100 most powerful women in Washington, DC by Washingtonian magazine. In 2006 and 2008 NARAL helped more pro-choice politicians earn seats in Congress. However, after a setback in 2010 when a large number of republicans became elected, 2011 and 2012 sadly saw record numbers of new anti-choice laws enacted in states since Roe V. Wade.

Six Portraits in Six Days: Diana DeGette

Day five in my Six Portraits in Six Days series of people who are making a difference is Congresswoman Diana DeGette. DeGette has long been a leader on the issues that are important to the Democratic Party. DeGette was responsible for writing Colorado’s indispensable “bubble bill” which protects patients from harassment at abortion clinics and medical care facilities. Recently DeGette has introduced essential legislation for tougher gun control laws in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting.

Six Portraits in Six Days: Bill Keller

Day four in my Six Portraits in Six Days series is writer for The New York Times, Bill Keller. Keller served as executive editor for The Times for nine years until 2011 when he stepped down to become a full time writer for the newspaper. In 2011 Keller wrote a bold, outstanding article urging other journalists to ask political candidates tougher questions about their religious views. Later Keller said of his article, “I would want to know if a candidate’s faith guided his or her views on the issues, if religious doctrine would be a justification for excluding some categories of citizen (gays, for example) from the rights and protections the country promises.”

Six Portraits in Six Days: Barak Goodman

Day three in my Six Portraits in Six Days series is co-founder of Ark Media, Barak Goodman. Goodman wrote and directed the praised documentary "Clinton” which aired on PBS in 2012. In recent years Ark films have received several accolades, most notably, Goodman’s film “Scottsboro:An American Tragedy” which received an Oscar nomination in 2001 for Best Documentary and won an Emmy in that same year for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special.

Six Portraits in Six Days: Anne-Marie Slaughter

Day two in my Six Portraits in Six Days series is Princeton Professor, Anne-Marie Slaughter. In July 2012, Slaughter wrote an article for The Atlantic entitled "Why Women Still Can't Have it All." The article became a viral hit and sparked numerous debates about gender equality and work-family balance. It quickly became the most popular article ever published in The Atlantic.

Six Portraits in Six Days: Christine Quinn

Six Portraits in Six Days. This is the beginning of a new series of portraits featuring people that I admire who are making a difference. I will post one new portrait a day for six days. Day number one is Speaker of the New York City Council, Christine Quinn. Quinn has always been outspoken in her support for LGBT rights. Back in July of 2012 Quinn advocated for the closing of the Chick-fil-A on the NYU campus. More recently, Quinn called out Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia’s comments when he equated anti-sodomy laws to bans on murder and bestiality.