2010 Pennsylvania
Leadership Conference

Fueling the Breakdown of the American Family

Moderator:

Michael Geer, PA Family Institute

Panelists:

John Eichelberger, State Senator

Patrick Fagan, Family Research Council

Randy Wenger, Independence Law Center

Saturday, March 28, 2009

10:30 - 11:30 am

Moderator:


Michael Geer

• Michael Geer, PA Family Institute
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Michael Geer is the President of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, a research and education organization, that focuses on public policies and cultural trends that impact families.

Pennsylvania Family Institute lists nearly 40,000 Pennsylvania families as constituents, and is supported by private contributions from interested individuals, business, foundations and organizations.

Michael also serves as the volunteer President for Lancaster United for Life, a pro-life organization that has successfully fought to keep a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic out of Lancaster. He's on the board of the REACH Alliance, a school choice advocacy organization, and is a leader with Pennsylvanians Against Gambling Expansion

Prior to starting at the Pennsylvania Family Institute, Michael served for eight years at WPXI-TV, the NBC television affiliate in Pittsburgh, as Senior News Producer and for two years at the ABC News Washington bureau, working on the production staff of ABC World News Tonight and the original Nightline staff.

Michael holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy from Regent University, and a B.A. in American History from the University of Maryland.

He lives in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, is married and the father of five children.

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Panelists:


John Eichelberger

• Hon. John Eichelberger, State Senator (click for bio)

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Senator John H. Eichelberger, Jr. has earned the reputation of standing alone, if necessary, to make tough votes and difficult decisions. John is the legislator who requested the now famous "Bonus-gate" investigation. He has been recognized for his work on behalf of local government and business and regularly receives statewide press concerning his frugal management of taxpayer money. John is a strong social and fiscal conservative and serves on five Senate committees. He is currently chairman of the Senate Local Government Committee.

John is an avid runner, an outdoorsman, and remains active in numerous religious and civic organizations. He lives in Blair County, with his wife, Charlotte, who is best known as the health reporter for WTAJ-TV, and their three rescued Airedale Terriers. His son Johnny just graduated with honors from George Mason University and is applying to law schools.

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Patrick Fagan

• Patrick Fagan, Center for Research on Marriage and Religion
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Patrick F. Fagan is Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Research on Marriage and Religion, where he examines the relationships among family, marriage, religion, community, and America's social problems as illustrated in the social sciences research data. The Center has a particular emphasis on the relationship between marital stability coupled with the practice of religion and their joint impacts on such issues as happiness, health, mental health and general well being, income and savings, educational attainment and family stability as well as such negative outcomes as poverty, crime, abuse, and drug addiction.

A native of Ireland, Fagan earned his Bachelor of Social Science degree with a double major in sociology and social administration, and a professional graduate degree in psychology (dip. psych.) as well as a Ph.D. in social policy from University College Dublin.

Fagan started his career as a grade school teacher in Cork, Ireland, then returned to college to become a psychologist, going to Canada to practice then to Washington, D.C. to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology. In 1984, Fagan moved from the clinical world into the public policy arena, to work on family issues at the Free Congress Foundation. After that he worked for Senator Dan Coats of Indiana, then was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Family and Community Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by President George H.W. Bush, before spending the next thirteen years at the Heritage Foundation where he was a senior fellow.

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Randy Wenger

• Randy Wenger, Independence Law Center (toggle bio)

Randy Wenger, chief counsel for the Independence Law Center, specializes in public policy litigation. He has been involved in litigating the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, the definition of marriage, gambling, and community decency. He has also written a number of Amicus Curie briefs in the area of homosexual marriage, homosexual adoption, and intelligent design. Much of his work has been done in conjunction with the Alliance Defense Fund. Mr. Wenger has practiced in numerous federal appellate and district courts around the county.

Mr. Wenger studied international business at Messiah College, graduated with a degree in economics from the University of Chicago, and went on to get his law degree at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a partner at Boyle, Neblett & Wenger in Camp Hill. He is married to Tina Wenger and has five children.

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