For the past 22 years Colleen Branagan has been about the business of directing personnel and human resources, first for the Archdiocese of Seattle, Wash., and for the past five years in the Diocese of Stockton.

In mid-February, she began a new challenge as executive director of the Sacramento Life Center. She anticipates the decision-making process that has guided her in the past to remain the same.

“The ‘seamless garment’ image has always been a wonderful metaphor for me,” said Branagan, recalling the approach the Cardinal Joseph L. Bernardin, the late archbishop of Chicago, used to illustrate a consistent ethic of life in American culture.

“That reliance on Catholic social teaching of the common good is something I bring — a belief we are all loved and unique in the world,” she said.

A member of St. Anthony Parish in Sacramento, Branagan said the idea of making a job change came unexpectedly when she attended a recent Life Center dinner and learned that Tom Kubasak, former executive director, was leaving. The position seemed a natural fit.

“It meant working for an organization that helps those who have to make a decision to give life to a child,” said Branagan, who shares a dedication to church ministry with her husband, Ned Dolejsi, executive director of the California Catholic Conference.

With a healthy respect for the legacy left by directors preceding her, Branagan has set short and long-range goals for challenges that have not changed.

“We as a society have failed women who should believe they are better than abortion. That will be my mantra,” she said. “We have a compelling mission and women who need our services. It’s just a matter of making sure they know about us.”

To reach that goal, Branagan’s “to do” list includes reaching out to “unmet populations” of women so they have an informed choice about their options.

As one way of reaching out, the Life Center on March 18-19 will have an information booth at the “Yeah Baby Family Expo” at Cal Expo in Sacramento.

The one-stop shopping event offering baby products, services and information is a new venue with the potential to reach thousands of people.

Branagan also plans to continue a series of educational seminars for mothers, fathers, and grandparents-to-be, previously held at First Presbyterian Church of Roseville and presented by Karen Hourscht, the Life Center’s licensed vocational nurse.

The seminars focus on issues such as fetal development, nutrition and pregnancy, and the postpartum experience.

The Life Center may also expand to a third location in the greater Sacramento area and possibly increase the hours of its Roseville clinic “so women really do have an informed choice about their options,” Branagan said.

Also in the works is a plan to further enhance the agency’s marketing plan, which currently includes advertising on transit bus benches, 10-second daily radio ads on two FM stations and a Web site, www.saclife.org.

“We’re making sure all our advertising connects with both English and Spanish-speaking women,” she said.

That there is a sizable population of women eager to make that connection is evident, as last year the Life Center staff served more than 780 people who visited one of their two locations. That number includes 147 women who were age 18 or younger and 153 who had already had an abortion.

Adding to the expertise of the center’s current staff, Branagan brings her own personal life experiences, including at one time being a single, unmarried mother as well as the mother of three sons and stepmother of three sons.

“I do bring some compassion and understanding of pregnancy under less than optimal circumstances,” she said. “My ultimate vision would be that there would be no need for the Sacramento Life Center because every child would be chosen.”

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