Patriot Voices was founded by Rick and Karen Santorum in 2012 to give a voice to hard-working Americans.
Learn more about the people behind Patriot Voices:
Rick Santorum, Chairman
Rick Santorum was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 2012 and 2016 – winning the 2012 Iowa caucuses, 10 additional states and nearly 4 million votes. Prior to his campaigns for president, Rick served two terms in both the House of Representatives and Senate, where he gained a reputation as one of the nation’s leading government reformers, pro-life advocates, and national security experts. Rick is currently a CNN Senior Political Contributor.
Rick Santorum is the author of the 2005 New York Times bestseller It Takes a Family, American Patriots: Answering the Call to Freedom, and Blue Collar Conservatives: Recommitting to an America that Works. Rick and his wife Karen are also the co-authors of Bella’s Gift that chronicles the inspiring story of life with the Santorums’ special-needs youngest child. Bella was born with a condition called Trisomy 18, and she wasn’t expected to survive her first birthday. Beating all the odds, Bella turned 12 in May of 2020 and is a joyful and loving little girl. Bella’s miraculous life has only strengthened Rick and Karen’s belief in the dignity of each and every life. Rick and Karen are the parents of seven children including Bella: Elizabeth, John, Daniel, Sarah Maria, Peter, and Patrick.
Shonda Werry, Executive Director
Shonda Werry is a policy advisor and political writer in Washington, DC. During her career, she has served in various communications and research positions for political candidates and non-profit organizations. She has worked in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives in legislative and communications roles.
As the executive director of Patriot Voices, Shonda works to advance pro-family, conservative solutions and policy proposals.
When she isn’t working in the liberty movement in the United States, Shonda is an advocate for child welfare issues in the former Soviet Union. She has lived in, and traveled extensively across the former Soviet Union, and she serves on the board of Ukraine Orphan Outreach.
Shonda is the co-author, with Congressman Ken Buck, of Capitol of Freedom: Restoring American Greatness. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies and Russian from the University of Chicago, and a Master’s Degree from Johns Hopkins University.
Contact Shonda at Shonda@PatriotVoices.com
Nadine Maenza, Senior Advisor
Nadine Maenza is a noted speaker, writer, and policy expert with more than two decades of experience as an advocate for working families and a champion for international religious freedom.
As President of the IRF Secretariat, she works to build infrastructure to support the religious freedom movement globally. They convene the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Roundtable in Washington, DC and in over 30 countries globally. She also serves as a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center.
Serving as a senior advisor at Patriot Voices, she provides her expertise to help shape the organization’s special emphasis on public policies that support working families. Drawing on her extensive network and coalition-building experiences, she has helped build unique coalitions on issues such as paid family leave, health care, tax reform, and international religious freedom.
In May 2022, Nadine finished her second term as a White House appointee on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), serving her last year as Chair.
In 2023, Nadine was given the “Hevrin Khalaf Peace Award” from The Future Syria Party in Raqqa, Syria. In 2022, Nadine was awarded the IRF Impact Award for current or former government officials at the IRF Summit in Washington, D.C. Because of her strong commitment to advocate for religious freedom for all communities, she was especially honored by separate awards from both Christian and Muslim communities. In July 2023, she was given the “Humanitarian Award” by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, focusing on her work evacuating the community from Afghanistan. In 2022, she was awarded by Justice for All for “Advocacy for all, especially Muslims.” In 2021, she was awarded the “Cedar of God Award” by In Defense of Christiansfor her “tireless worker throughout her career for religious freedom for Christians both in the Middle East and globally.”
In the past five years, Nadine has traveled extensively, spending about a month each year in Syria and Iraq. She is a sought-after speaker on religious freedom, building inclusive societies, U.S. foreign policy, and various other topics. Her writings have been published in numerous publications domestically and internationally.
Nadine has advised several major organizations on faith engagement, working family policy, and strategic partnerships through The Clapham Group. She has partnered with The Shai Fund in the evacuation of those fleeing severe persecution, including resettling Afghan refugees since August 2021. She has decades of experience in fundraising and grassroots organizing as senior advisor to several presidential candidates, U.S. Senate campaigns and grassroots organizations. She worked on Capitol Hill in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE) and is on the board for both The Sinjar Academy and Freedom Research Foundation. She is a graduate of Penn State University. She is married with three adult children and lives outside of Philadelphia in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Contact Nadine at Nadine@PatriotVoices.com
Shirley Widlacki, National Grassroots Director
Shirley was first inspired into political activism by Senator Santorum’s passionate defense of the unborn during the partial-birth abortion debate in 1996 and later was very active in both of his two presidential campaigns. She also served as a Chapter Leader for Patriot Voices in Virginia. Shirley is a conservative culture warrior, blogger, and a blue collar small business owner with her husband, Tim. They have been married for 36 years and have 3 children. As a deeply involved grassroots activist, She is enthusiastic about teaming with like-minded people committed to building a solid network of local and state leaders and social media activists to have the voices of working families heard loud and clear in Washington and throughout the country.
Contact Shirley at Shirley@PatriotVoices.com