Annie Laurie Gaylor, a third-generation freethinker, co-founded FFRF with her mother, Anne Gaylor, as a college student in 1976. She was editor of Freethought Today, FFRF’s newspaper, from 1985 to 2009. Her book, Woe to the Women: The Bible Tells Me So, first published by FFRF in 1981 and is being updated. In 1988, FFRF published her book, Betrayal of Trust: Clergy Abuse of Children, the first book documenting widespread sexual abuse by clergy. Her 1997 anthology, Women Without Superstition: ‘No Gods, No Masters,’ is the first collection of the writings of historical and contemporary women freethinkers. A 1980 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Journalism School, she was an award-winning student reporter and recipient of the Ken Purdy scholarship. After graduation, she founded, edited, and published the Feminist Connection, a monthly advocacy newspaper, from 1980–1985. She first joined the FFRF staff in 1985. She became co-president in 2004. In the late 1970s, her student protest ended commencement prayers at the UW-Madison. She has been the plaintiff in or overseen many state/church lawsuits and actions by FFRF. Dan and Annie Laurie have appeared on a variety of TV news shows, including “Oprah,” “O’Reilly,” “Good Morning America,” Univision, CNN and FOX news segments, CBS Evening News, and ABC World News Tonight. She co-hosted FRF’s TV show, “Freethought Matters,” from 2018–2025 and has co-hosted Freethought Radio since 2006.
