<p>Mark Kennedy Shriver, the son of Sargent and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, is a former Maryland state legislator, a leader in children's education and poverty prevention, and author of "A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver," a New York Times best-seller. He is Senior Vice President of U.S. Programs for Save Our Children, a leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the U.S. and around the world and is the President of the Save the Children Action Network.</p><p>From 1995 to 2003, Shriver served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates. While an elected official, he became Maryland's first-ever Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Youth and Families. During his legislative service, he was repeatedly recognized as Outstanding Legislator of the Year by prominent advocacy and civic organizations.</p><p>In 1988, Shriver founded The Choice Program, an innovative at-risk youth intervention project of the Shriver Center at University of Maryland. He has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the National Commission on Children and Disasters and the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Advisory Council.</p><p>In June 2012 Shriver published his memoir about his father, "A Good Man," in which he discovers the moral principles that guided his legendary father and applies them to his own life.</p><p>A dedicated public servant and humanitarian, Shriver discusses why he has spent a lifetime advocating for children's issues and how today's kids can have a safe and enriching childhood. Shriver also shares the inspirational guiding principles that he learned from his father to move audiences to go out and make a difference in their own life as well as someone else's.</p>
Child Advocate, “A Good Man” Author, Senior Vice President, U.S. Programs and Advocacy & Save the Children and President, Save the Children Action Network
<ul><li><strong>Eradicating Poverty Through a Commitment to Public Service</strong></li><li>Following in his father Sargent Shriver's footsteps, Mark Kennedy Shriver has dedicated his life to improving the lives of children and eradicating poverty. With a deep sense of compassion and commitment to social justice, Shriver, a former Maryland legislator, inspires audiences to continue the war on poverty at a time when the recession has hit vulnerable populations the hardest. One in four children in the U.S. now live in poverty, more than there have been in generations. Shriver shares with audiences his strategies, both personal and professional, for creating programs and policies that create systemic change -- by providing better resources, better employment opportunities, and investment in early childhood education, among other efforts.</li><li><strong>Make a Difference: Leading with Caring and Compassion</strong></li><li>What have you done today to help the world? As Mark Kennedy Shriver's inspirational leadership at Save the Children has shown, one person can make a difference, and he inspires audiences to do just that in this uplifting keynote. Drawing on his experience as an elected official, humanitarian, and non-profit leader, Shriver shares the lessons he has learned throughout his life and career that contribute to improving the lives of others, especially disadvantaged children and youth in impoverished regions across the world. Audiences will be moved by his message of how they can show care and concern for the world around them by taking real action and lending a helping hand.</li></ul>