Dignity Along Life’s Continuum

Recorded during our 2026 Leadership Conference, This panel argued for innovative and robust family policy solutions championing the vulnerable.

Leah Libresco Sargeant is the Editorial Director at the Institute for Progress (IFP), a public policy think tank. She is the author of three books, most recently The Dignity of Dependence: A Feminist Manifesto.  Leah is also the author of Arriving at Amen: Seven Catholic Prayers that Even I Can Offer, which tells the story of how she learned to pray. Her second book, Building the Benedict Option, is a guide to building thicker Christian community. Her freelance writing has appeared in The New York Times, First Things, The Dispatch, and The New Atlantis.

Jessie Southerland is a policy advisor for Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) Southerland previously served as Project Manager for Research & Investigations and Legal Assistant at Americans United for Life. Prior to his time on Capitol Hill, Jesse spent two years in the private sector working for a commercial HVAC company and a year in the Middle East helping to establish an NGO that provided support to Syrian Refugees. Jesse earned his bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in history at North Carolina Wesleyan University.

Jamie Towey leads Aging with Dignity’s advocacy efforts, to include developing strategic partnerships, leading Assisted Suicide Watch, and engaging with AWD’s community of customers, donors, and followers. He also heads up the organization’s Falls Church office. He is a former consultant at a big-four accounting firm after four-and-a-half years at the FBI. He holds an MBA from Oxford University and bachelor’s degrees in Arabic and Chinese languages from the University of Notre Dame.