Mary Jean Collins was born in Superior, Wisconsin and attended Alverno College in Milwaukee where she was influenced by its faculty of Catholic nuns to become involved in advancing  women’s education and empowerment. In 1968 she moved to Chicago and was elected president of the Chicago Chapter of NOW in 1969. In 1970 Chicago NOW held employment conference, protested discrimination in higher education and access to public accommodations, and sponsored the Chicago’s Women’s Strike for Equality which brought 15,000 people to Daley Plaza downtown. That year she was also elected Midwest Regional Director of NOW a position she held until _____.  During this time she was co-chair of the Sears Task Force, a national effort to support the EEOC campaign against discrimination by the world’s largest employer of women. In 1980 she was again elected President of the Chicago NOW and helped direct the last phase of the campaign to ratify the ERA in Illinois. From 1982 – 1985 she moved to Washington, D.C. and was Action Vice-President of national NOW. She also served as deputy directory of Catholics for a Free Choice from 1985 – 1993 and national political director for People for the American way.