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Draft:Karyn Strickler

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  • Comment: Please remove all claims based in WP:PRIMARY sources, such as articles written by Strickler, for which no secondary source exists. CopyleftEverything (talk) 01:30, 18 June 2026 (UTC)
  • Comment: Please format the references so that the reader is not presented with a bare URL. The URL is the least important part of a reference – you have to provide enough information to let the reader know what the source is and make it possible for them to find it, for instance the name of the publication, title, author, date, and page(s). See WP:REFBEGIN for more information on how to do this. bonadea contributions talk 13:19, 11 April 2026 (UTC)


Karyn Strickler is an American political organizer, environmental advocate, and reproductive rights organizer. She served as executive director of the Maryland affiliate of the National Abortion Rights Action League (MD NARAL) during a period of major legislative and electoral activity in Maryland and later founded Fifty Plus One, an organization that trained pro-choice women in the campaign skills necessary to run for public office. She also served as executive director of the national Endangered Species Coalition, worked on electoral campaigns including Chris Van Hollen's successful 2002 congressional race, and founded Vote Climate U.S. PAC, a political action committee focused on climate-focused electoral strategy.

Early life and education

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Strickler earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from McDaniel College, where she was a member of Pi Gamma Mu, an international social science honor society.[1]

Early career and reproductive rights advocacy

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Strickler served as executive director of MD NARAL from 1986 to 1992, during a period of legislative and electoral debate over abortion rights in Maryland, including the passage of state abortion protections and the 1992 referendum.[2]

Coverage in The Washington Post during this period identified Strickler as a leading figure in abortion rights advocacy efforts in the state.[3][4][5] Kumar Barve, then Maryland House majority leader, described her as a leader in the abortion rights movement.[6]

Under her leadership, Maryland became the fourth state in the country to enact legislation codifying the principles of Roe v. Wade into state law. National coverage of this development appeared in The New York Times and other outlets.[7][8] As executive director of the MD NARAL PAC, Strickler won 100% of the organization's targeted state senate races in Maryland, producing a pro-choice supermajority.[9]

During the 1992 referendum campaign, reporting highlighted the role of statewide organizing and the political salience of the issue, with Strickler among those coordinating advocacy and electoral strategy.[10]

Her role in Maryland abortion politics has been examined in academic analyses of state-level politics, including Abortion Politics in American States.[11] Later coverage of abortion policy debates in other states continued to reference the Maryland legislative framework, with Strickler appearing in reporting on the broader implications of such laws.[12]

Following her tenure at MD NARAL, Strickler founded Fifty Plus One, a campaign training organization for pro-choice candidates, and was quoted in National Journal in connection with this work.[13] Strickler also articulated what she called "The Do Nothing Strategy" — a critique of progressive organizations she argued prioritized institutional stability over legislative action — in essays published in CounterPunch and Utne Reader.[14][15]

Her work has also been referenced in broader discussions of women's political leadership in the United States, including in Madam President by Eleanor Clift.[16]

Political and advocacy work

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Strickler served as executive director of the national Endangered Species Coalition, during national debates over reauthorization and enforcement of the Endangered Species Act.[17][18]

In 2001–2002, she served as finance director for Chris Van Hollen's Democratic primary campaign for Maryland's 8th congressional district and volunteer director during the general election.[19]

Strickler served as campaign manager for her husband Allan Lichtman's 2006 campaign for the United States Senate in Maryland.[20]

In 2015, she led a women's outreach effort for Jamie Raskin's campaign for the United States House of Representatives.[21]

Strickler has lectured and trained internationally on grassroots organizing and fundraising on behalf of the United States Department of State, and worked in Botswana training women in campaign skills for elected office.[22]

Television

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Strickler produced and hosted Climate Challenge, a program on Montgomery County public television described as the first television show dedicated exclusively to climate change.[23]

Climate advocacy

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Strickler is the founder and president of Vote Climate U.S. PAC, a political action committee focused on climate change and electoral advocacy. Beginning in 2018, she led development of the organization's national Voter's Guide, which rates every incumbent and challenger for the U.S. House and United States Senate on climate policy. Starting in 2020, the guide also rates presidential candidates every four years. Between elections, Vote Climate U.S. PAC publishes a Congress Climate Scorecard tracking lawmakers' positions, votes, and support for carbon fee legislation.[24]

Vox described the methodology and national scope of the group's voter guide, including Strickler's approach to evaluating candidates and framing climate change as an electoral issue.[25]

Reporting in Forbes on the 2018 midterm elections referenced Vote Climate U.S. PAC in the context of broader shifts in candidates' positions on climate change.[26]

Coverage by ClimateWire during the 2020 election cycle examined how Democratic candidates approached climate policy, including the use of evaluation frameworks such as those developed by Vote Climate U.S. PAC.[27]

Inside Climate News has also reported on strategies for identifying and electing climate-focused candidates, including Strickler's analysis of messaging and electoral effectiveness.[28]

Personal life

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Strickler married historian Allan Lichtman in 1991.[29] She is a competitive endurance athlete and an age-group champion of the Chesapeakeman Ironman triathlon, covering 140.6 miles of swimming, cycling, and running.[30]

References

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  1. ↑ "Karyn Strickler". Vote Climate U.S. PAC. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Abortion Rights Bill Advances in Md". The Washington Post. February 6, 1991. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Hospital Bans Late Abortions". The Washington Post. February 23, 1989. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Abortion Issue Spurs Md. Activism". The Washington Post. September 1, 1990. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Schaefer Backs Right to Abortion". The Washington Post. September 22, 1990. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Vote Climate U.S. PAC". InfluenceWatch. May 18, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  7. ↑ "New Maryland Law Protects Right to Abortion". The New York Times. February 19, 1991. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Abortion-Rights Bill OK'd; Maryland Measure Called One of the Most Liberal". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. February 19, 1991.
  9. ↑ "Karyn Strickler". Vote Climate U.S. PAC. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  10. ↑ "In Recession-Racked Times, Abortion Issue Takes Back Seat". The Washington Post. October 5, 1992. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  11. ↑ Segers, Mary C.; Byrnes, Timothy A. (1994). Abortion Politics in American States. Routledge.
  12. ↑ "Florida Seeks to Overturn Similar Law". Wisconsin State Journal. May 15, 1998.
  13. ↑ "Training for Women Candidates". National Journal. April 20, 1996.
  14. ↑ "The Do-Nothing Strategy, an Expose of Progressive Politics". CounterPunch. June 30, 2003. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  15. ↑ "The Do Nothing Strategy: An Expose of National Progressive Politics". Utne Reader. July 1, 2003. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  16. ↑ Clift, Eleanor (1996). Madam President. HarperCollins.
  17. ↑ "Appointments". The Washington Post. July 12, 1993. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Environmentalists Urge Congress to Strengthen Endangered Species Act". Associated Press. December 28, 1993.
  19. ↑ "Candidate Decries Capitol Hill Corruption". Connection Newspapers. March 7, 2006. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Lichtman Announces Candidacy for US Senate". Capital News Service. September 28, 2005. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Vote Climate U.S. PAC". InfluenceWatch. May 18, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Karyn Strickler". Vote Climate U.S. PAC. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Karyn Strickler". About.me. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Karyn Strickler". Vote Climate U.S. PAC. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  25. ↑ "This group is helping voters make sense of which candidates take climate change seriously". Vox. 2018.
  26. ↑ McMahon, Jeff (November 7, 2018). "Midterm Results: Climate Science Deniers Run Out Of U.S. House". Forbes. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  27. ↑ "2020 Dems embrace climate, but will voters?". ClimateWire. January 24, 2019.
  28. ↑ "Want to Elect Climate Champions? Here's How to Tell Who's Really Serious About Climate Change". Inside Climate News. April 21, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Allan Lichtman". Walikali. August 7, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  30. ↑ "Karyn Strickler". Vote Climate U.S. PAC. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
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Category:American political activists Category:American women activists Category:Climate change activists Category:McDaniel College alumni Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

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