Diane Randall served as the General Secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) from 2011-2021. She was the fourth General Secretary and first woman to hold the position. In that role, Diane led FCNL’s staff to effectively educate and lobby for the policies and legislative priorities established by FCNL’s General Committee.
A lifelong advocate for peace and social justice, Diane is a fierce proponent for citizen engagement that advances policies and practices to create a better society for all.
Diane believes that Friends prophetic witness to work for a world that practices peace, equality, community, integrity, and simplicity is often at odds with political life. This effort to pursue truth and to see ‘that of God in every person we meet’ are disciplines that shape FCNL’s patient and persistent approach to lobbying for legislation that can help create a more peaceful and just world.
Diane came to FCNL in March 2011 as the fourth Executive Secretary (now General Secretary). Diane has led FCNL’s program expansion, including adding lobbyists and new programs to engage grassroots citizens, young adults, and more Quakers to lobby for peace, justice, and a sustainable planet. Diane travels widely on behalf of FCNL and represents a voice for Quaker advocacy in Washington on Capitol Hill, within the faith community, in media, and throughout the United States.
Before coming to FCNL, Diane was executive director of Partnership for Strong Communities, a Connecticut-based non-profit organization providing leadership, advocacy, and policy development on solutions to homelessness, affordable housing, and community development. Diane began her career as a high school English teacher and started working for peace in 1983 as the executive director of the Omaha Nuclear Freeze Campaign. Diane relocated to Connecticut in 1986 where she directed the state Network to Abolish the Death Penalty and worked for the Office of Urban Affairs of the Archdiocese of Hartford, launching a 20-year career lobbying the state legislature. During that time, Diane became the first executive director of the Connecticut AIDS Residence Coalition.
Diane is a convinced Friend, and a member of Hartford Monthly Meeting, New England Yearly Meeting.
Diane is a convinced Friend, and a member of Hartford Monthly Meeting, New England Yearly Meeting. Diane currently worships with Langley Hill Friends in Baltimore Yearly Meeting, and she relishes worshiping with Friends across the country while traveling for FCNL.
She serves on the Corporation of Haverford College. Diane previously served on the Sidwell Friends School Board of Trustees, the Board of Advisors of the Earlham School of Religion, the CT Housing Finance Authority Board, the CT Public Defender Services Commission, and the West Hartford Board of Education. She currently serves on the coordinating committee of the Circle of Protection.
In 2021, the Nuclear Threat Initiative named Diane a Gender Champion in Nuclear Policy in recognition of her role in making FCNL a leading voice for nuclear disarmament and arms reduction. In 2020, Diane was named by the Center for American Progress as one of the 15 “Faith Leaders to Watch” in the U.S.
Diane graduated from the University of Nebraska with a B.S in Education. She is married to Roger Catlin and is the mother of Alex, Lillie, and Nora; she always appreciates spending time with her family.
Diane enjoys walking in Washington, DC and in the natural world, reading literature and non-fiction, and cooking from the local farmer’s market.