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Q: Congratulations on your new baby! Before we talk about her, tell us a little about yourself.
A: I moved to Washington D.C. almost nine years ago from Michigan, and have worked in the liberty movement ever since. I began my career in the liberty movement on Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign, campaigned for a few other people and ballot initiatives, then began to work for Ed Crane at the Cato Institute.
I was recruited to move to Kentucky to campaign for Senate candidate Rand Paul, and moved back to work in his Washington office. Five years ago I started working part-time on a new project, Ladies of Liberty Alliance, or LOLA, and three years ago I became our first full-time executive director.
I married my husband, Dan, a Brit, two years ago, and in December 2015 our little girl was born at nine and a half pounds and 21 inches.
Q: And what’s the name of your little four-month-old?
A: Dagny Joy!
Q: Wow! Why Dagny?
A: We wanted a name that was different and unique but hadn’t decided yet until my best friend’s daughter was telling a story about her friends at school, one of whom was named Dagny … Dan and I both loved Atlas Shrugged. We looked at each other when she mentioned her friend’s name, and exchanged huge smiles because we knew we had found our baby’s name.
The name made so much sense to us, my husband and I want everything for our daughter that goes along with the name. We want her to be an individual, to think for herself, and to put her best interest first. She’s our first born so the name “Dagny” just seemed so right!
Q: Since you live according to rational self-interest, tell us why have kids? What’s in it for you?
A: I love my husband and think there should be more people like us in the world! (laughs) Honestly, I love babies and Dagny makes me happy constantly … Well, maybe 98% of the time, which is more than I can say for most people. She has enriched my life so much! She has made me more of what I am!
Q: How so?
A: Being a mother has helped me better prioritize my life goals. Spending time with my baby makes me happy but my bigger goal is to promote liberty and ultimately to create a world in which people live better lives, which is what liberty allows. It makes me feel good to work toward a future with more liberty.
Q: A future for your daughter! Tell us how LOLA is doing this.
A: We work with women who want to live in a free world and already know how to think, and we teach them how to promote their ideas further. Women are the best ambassadors for liberty to people who we have not yet reached as a movement.
LOLA started with training events in Washington. Many women wanted us to expand our efforts across the country but we found that there was no existing network to connect liberty ladies with our unique training. So we created one. We now have 26 chapters around the world.
We are building a home for women in the liberty movement that has never existed before. We have such a beautiful philosophy and women love to share it with each other. And it’s especially rewarding to share it with mothers raising families because those children, after all, are the future!
Q: Thanks so much for your time! And good luck with Ladies for Liberty and with little Dagny!
Edward Hudgins is research director at the Heartland Institute and former director of advocacy and senior scholar at The Atlas Society.
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