I began attending the March for Life here in Washington when I was a freshman in college. At the age of 18, as a first-year student at Notre Dame, I traveled overnight by bus, as many others do, to be a part of the march. That experience — along with every march I’ve participated in since — has been incredibly significant for me. The March for Life in Washington, specifically, is a highly uplifting occasion and is packed with young attendees; it possesses an immense level of enthusiasm and camaraderie.

I didn’t ultimately sense that I was agreeing despite the difficulties of the current situation. And there are indeed difficulties. Many recent ballot initiatives over the past few years haven’t favored us. However, everything the pro-life movement strives for, our mandate for action, remains unchanged. That is such a blessing: that we understand we are advocating for a genuinely just cause. The challenges may swirl around us, but our duty to continue proclaiming the truth and the beauty and worth of human life remains steadfast.

The March for Life serves as a steadfast beacon in turbulent times. Each passing year, the March for Life provides pro-life Americans an opportunity to unite, to draw support and motivation from one another, and to demonstrate to our country that pro-life individuals remain dedicated. We continue to stand strong, braving the January elements, to gather and testify to the beauty and dignity of human life.

Our Sunday Visitor: In what ways does your Catholic faith inspire your professional endeavors?

Lichter: I have been journeying with Jesus for countless years. I was fortunate; due to the impact of my parents, an exceptional high school, and a truly passionate youth minister in high school; to establish the routine of daily prayer, daily Scripture reading, journaling and active reflection during my teenage years. I have retained all of those practices throughout my life. I sensed that the Lord was prompting me to undertake this for the March for Life, and I truly have deep confidence in His guidance in my life.

Certainly, the Church conveys that abortion is indeed a profound wrong. As a mother — having gone through pregnancy, giving birth to my children, and nurturing them … this has instilled in me a profound understanding that every life holds value and that the unborn possess significant dignity. I have felt this personally, and I find it heartbreaking that women are misled by our society into believing that motherhood could restrain them or that motherhood conflicts with thriving and satisfaction.

The kindness of the Holy Spirit has touched and warmed my heart to recognize the struggles of many of my fellow mothers who lack the resources to choose life. I perceive my vocation in this position as doing all I can and all we can as an organization to ensure that women are aware of and experience substantial support.

Our Sunday Visitor: You have a wonderful marriage, lovely children, and now this deeply significant job. How do you manage everything?

Lichter: I establish quite firm limits on my work hours, and I communicate those limits clearly to my coworkers. In my experience, people are generally quite accommodating, and I’ve never encountered any problems with it. I have a definitive end time for my workday to ensure I can return home or go downstairs from my home office to prepare dinner, assist with homework and piano practice, and simply be completely engaged with my family. I remain offline until all of my children are settled in bed, which is happening later and later since I now have an almost-11-year-old. After that, I log back in and do some additional work.

Our aim is to dine at home collectively each evening throughout the week. Most days we succeed. We do need to adjust our mealtime slightly when necessary to ensure we can all gather — for instance, during soccer season when my son returns later than usual. We offer a prayer, or we sing the Johnny Appleseed song (“The Lord is good to me”), a beloved tune in our family. We share intentions. We discuss the saint of the day.

We discuss our daily activities, naturally, and I utilize family mealtime to inform the children about any upcoming events, whether it involves business trips for my husband or myself, an awaited guest, or a relative’s birthday so we can collectively think of a fantastic present for Nona and Papa. We make a strong effort to encourage our energetic 3-year-old to remain still long enough to grasp some conversation and proper dining etiquette, or at the very least to consume a small portion of dinner. On some days, this goes more smoothly than others!

On Sundays, I aim to prepare a unique dish when I have the time, and we conclude the weekend with a family gathering. Rosary on Sunday evenings, it’s quite amusing lately since our little three-year-old has begun requesting a chance to guide a decade, and we’re more than happy to let her take the lead, although she can manage only around half of it. She remembers roughly half of the prayers correctly. We believe that God understands our sincere intentions and isn’t overly concerned if we don’t get every word perfect every time.

And ultimately, a crucial aspect of managing our household is the touch-base meeting that my husband and I hold on Sunday evenings once the kids are asleep. Occasionally, we mix up some cocktails or serve ourselves glasses of wine, after which we review our calendars and conduct a short-term, medium-term, and long-term preview. It may sound quite corporate, but we really appreciate this meeting as it guarantees that neither of us feels surprised by any upcoming events on the calendar.