We continue here our series highlighting the members of the Priests for Life Family who serve on our staff and pastoral team.Staten Island native Barbara Perkins came to work for Priests for Life during the 20 years the ministry was headquartered in New York City’s smallest borough.
“While I was still living on Staten Island,” says the current resident of Hazlet, N.J., “I worked for a company called Prompt Mailers, who handled Priests for Life mailings at the time. My role there was as data processing coordinator, and I handled the work flow between the account representatives and the data processing department. I had come there with prior account executive experience but my new role opened a bridge to learning how to do data work. I became Priests for Life’s account representative, and handled their data needs personally.”
Barbara first met Father Frank at a data meeting at Prompt Mailers, and when her position was downsized due to the poor economy in 2009, he said he would be happy to have her come on board.
“It took a year until that happened,” Barbara says, “and the rest is history! I believe Father Frank brought me on board not only because of my data knowledge, but also because of my commitment to pro-life values. As a Christian, I firmly believe all life is God- given and sacred.”
Barbara’s duties include managing data that comes in from all different sources, cleaning it up and integrating it into Priests for Life’s existing databases, and then using that data for outreach to existing donors and others who may support our cause.
There is never ever a shortage of data.
“I have learned so much working here, and Priests for Life has made me better equipped to defend life,” she says. “It’s an exciting time to be in the pro-life movement, with scientific breakthroughs that support our position. And while the political climate is very volatile, the lines drawn are very clear and that makes voting pro-life simpler than ever.”
Being part of the ministry’s off-location staff means that her contact with those in-house is more limited, especially since the move to Florida. But she has glowing praise for her co-workers nonetheless.
“I can say nothing but positive things about every person I have worked with in my past eight plus years here. There is such a mutual respect and unity in the mission, even though we are all very different people. The mindset is one of cooperation, not competition, and we all help each other out in getting the work done,” she says. “I believe that respect flows down right from the top. Fr. Frank and Janet, although they are world leaders in the movement, are humble servants who treat the staff with dignity and care. From mentioning prayer requests in daily briefings, sending us birthday and Christmas cards, celebrating at the annual Christmas party, and generally taking an interest in how we are doing as people -- all those experiences I’ve had demonstrate a rare and wonderful work environment.”
Barbara and her husband Frank are the parents of three children – daughters Amara and Kayla and son, Frankie.