Mark Shriver

Mark Shriver is Senior Vice President of U.S. Programs & Advocacy at Save the Children and CEO of Save the Children Action Network.

Shriver joined Save the Children in 2003 and developed the agency’s domestic early childhood and school-age education programs, which today reach children in more than 100 underserved rural communities. He also created Save the Children’s domestic emergencies programs to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children before, during and after disaster strikes.

An advocate for children throughout his career, Shriver led a national coalition that convinced Congress to create the National Commission on Children and Disasters. He was appointed to the Commission by Senator Harry Reid of Nevada; he was elected chairperson by his fellow commissioners and served in that role for the life of the Commission (2008-2011).

In 2013, Shriver created Save the Children’s political advocacy arm, Save the Children Action Network (SCAN). SCAN seeks to build bipartisan solutions and generate voter support for policies that ensure that every child has an equal opportunity to succeed. With a grassroots network of more than 280,000 supporters across all 50 states, SCAN is working to ensure that every child in the U.S. has access to high-quality early childhood education and to end preventable maternal and child deaths worldwide.

Shriver was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1994 to 2002. He was the first Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Youth and Families, and was appointed Chair of the Children and Youth Subcommittee of Maryland's House Ways and Means Committee. He was repeatedly recognized as Outstanding Legislator of the Year by prominent advocacy and civic organizations.

In 1988, Shriver founded the innovative Choice Program, which serves delinquent and at-risk youth through intensive, community-based counseling. He subsequently created The Choice Jobs Program, Inc., which trains, places and supports former Choice clients in jobs, as well as The Choice Middle Schools Program, a model for keeping at-risk middle school children in school.

Shriver received his B.A. from The College of the Holy Cross and a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University. His latest book, Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis, was published in November 2016. His bestselling memoir, A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver, was published in June 2012.

Shriver lives with his wife, Jeanne, and their three children, Molly, Tommy and Emma, in Maryland.