Meet Our Team

Mark K. Shriver is the founder and executive director for Save the Children Action Network (SCAN), where he leads the vision and strategy to advance policy change at the federal, state, and local levels.

Shriver joined Save the Children in 2003 and developed the agency’s domestic early childhood education programs, which today reach children in more than 300 rural communities. He also created Save the Children’s domestic emergencies programs to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children when disaster strikes.

An advocate for children throughout his career, Shriver led a national coalition that convinced Congress to create the National Commission on Children and Disasters. He was appointed to the commission by Senator Harry Reid and elected chairperson by his fellow commissioners; he served in that role for the life of the commission (2008-2011).

In 2013, Shriver created Save the Children’s political advocacy arm, Save the Children Action Network (SCAN). SCAN seeks to build bipartisan solutions and generate voter support for policies that ensure that every child has an equal opportunity to succeed. With a grassroots network that spans all 50 states, SCAN advocates for high-quality early learning and ending child hunger in the U.S. and educating and protecting kids around the world.

Shriver was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1994 to 2002. He was the first Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Youth and Families, and was appointed Chair of the Children and Youth Subcommittee of Maryland’s House Ways and Means Committee.

Shriver received his B.A. from The College of the Holy Cross and a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University. A bestselling author, he has written three books, 10 Hidden Heroes, Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis, and A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver. Shriver and his wife, Jeanne, live in Maryland and have three children, Molly, Tommy, and Emma.

Patrick Quirk leads efforts to advance public policy, mobilize stakeholders and strengthen Save the Children’s position as a voice for children. He also oversees Save the Children Action Network (SCAN), the organization’s political advocacy arm.

Prior to joining Save the Children, Patrick served as Vice President for Global Policy and Public Affairs at UNICEF USA, leading government relations and public affairs strategies to advance advocacy priorities. Previously, he was Vice President for Strategy, Innovation and Impact at the International Republican Institute (IRI), where he led global strategic planning, congressional engagement and organizational innovation efforts.

Patrick also served on the U.S. Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff and in the Department of State’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. He is the author of “Great Powers, Weak States, and Insurgency: Explaining Internal Threat Alliances” and serves as a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Patrick holds a B.A. from Bates College and a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.

Allison L. Dembeck leads the organization’s domestic and international policy teams. Her portfolio includes humanitarian response, global development issues such as food security and maternal, newborn, and child health, and U.S. priorities like education, nutrition, and rural child wellbeing.

Previously, she spent over a decade at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, most recently as Vice President of Congressional Relations. She also brings extensive Capitol Hill experience, having served in Senate Republican leadership and personal offices, and on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in both majority and minority roles.

Allison holds degrees from The George Washington University and Binghamton University (SUNY).

Nick is an accomplished financial professional with extensive experience in banking, financial services and financial analysis. Before joining SCAN, he spent 4 years at Save the Children US, where he supported the development of multiyear agency revenue and expense projections for a nearly $1 billion organizational budget and defined and managed the data governance and implementation of the financial coding process. Prior to that, Nick managed operations for the funding team at Dealer’s Financial Services and worked in banking operations for JP Morgan Chase.

As SCAN’s Treasurer, Nick manages a $10 million budget, provides financial analysis and ensures cash flow is adequate and all legal policies adhered to. He also serves as Senior Advisor of Finance and Operations for Save the Children’s PAC (Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns) Division.

Nick earned his B.A. in Finance from the University of Kentucky in 2010. Today, he lives in Union, Kentucky, with his wife and their two daughters.