Melvin is the Founder of Noah Webster Educational Foundation. He has over 40 years of experience in educational leadership, has served on the teaching faculty and in the administrations of several schools and colleges in the U.S., and started and led a college in Ukraine from 1993-2000. He has served as a Senior Advisor on Education for Gubernatorial candidates and Presidential Transition Teams. He lives in Virginia with his wife Sandy. They have six children and twenty grandchildren.

Shannae Anderson, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist in Virginia and California. She has been practicing for over 30 years, specializing in the treatment of trauma, addictions, eating disorders, self-harm, and personality disorders. She is the Clinical Director for Monarch Recovery and Kokua Wellness treatment programs in southern California, an adjunct professor at Liberty University, and the director of psychology, and co-director of ethics and advocacy for the American Association of Christian Counselors.

Having served over 50 years in education, Jack Appleby brings a voice of perspective and wisdom to those trying to understand the goals and challenges of educating children, running schools, and managing districts. He is passionate about helping leaders get policies from the board room to the classroom. His experience includes classroom teaching (math and biology) at the high school and college levels, school Principal, Superintendent of Schools, and Education Consultant. He has worked in public, private, and international schools, he led the Greencastle Antrim High School to be recognized as a Pennsylvania School of Distinction (2007), and he has been recognized more than once as Educator of the Year. He is the coauthor a book titled; First Choice: Changing the Habits of Education (2020)

Steve Arrington is a Virginia native and a building contractor since 1970. He served 3 terms on the Bedford County Board of Supervisors where he worked effectively to help the School Board improve school facilities while saving hundreds of thousands in taxpayer dollars. His priorities are his faith in Jesus Christ and his wife and 3 daughters.

Jim is the Founder/CEO of All Points Leadership. He is also a TEDx Speaker, an Educational/ Leadership Entrepreneur and Coach, and a John Maxwell Team Certified Member.  He has been a Middle School Principal, a Biology, Environmental, and AP Science Teacher, and a HS Track and Field and Head Football Coach. For those of you wanting to explore the state of Maine, he is a registered and licensed guide.

Cory Brewer is an attorney at the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) and Director of the Restoring American Education project. She focuses on legal and policy issues related to K-12 Education and is an advocate for both school choice and public school education reform. Cory holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School and a B.A. from Lawrence University. She resides near Milwaukee with her husband and three daughters.

Mercy Connors, Ph.D., earned her doctoral degree in Professional Counseling from Liberty University and is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Supervisor for the state of Virginia. Dr. Connors is the Director of Program Development and Professional Relations and Director of Counseling for the American Association of Christian Counselors and Director of the International Board of Christian Care. She is happily married to Jesse Connors, Founder of TrueLife.org, and has three children and one waiting for them in heaven.

Patrick is the founder and president of The True Corrective, a new initiative in education dedicated to restoring the shared values and principles that once bound us together as a nation.  Patrick has been a small business owner, filmmaker, advertising copywriter, and educator.  Today, he teaches high school in New York state where he witnesses first-hand the devastating effects on our culture of an education lacking in the Three Pillars: American Founding principles, Judeo-Christian values, and Western thought.  As our society moved increasingly away from these Pillars, it became clear to him that he needed to reach outside his classroom and support families directly in the education of their children.

Kimberly Hermann serves as General Counsel for Southeastern Legal Foundation. Since 2009, she has been working with SLF where she has dedicated her legal career to the freedom-based law movement. Kim advances liberty through litigation in federal and state trial and appellate courts on issues ranging from government overreach, free speech, property rights, and economic liberty. Her work and that of Southeastern Legal Foundation is regularly covered by national media and you will frequently hear or see her on radio, podcasts, and television.

Josh Hetzler serves as Legal Counsel for the Founding Freedoms Law Center. As Legal Counsel, he engages in a wide array of legal matters up to and including litigation, drafting legal advisory memos, and generally helping Virginians to effectively navigate the ever-evolving laws, directives, and court opinions impacting their fundamental freedoms. Josh also serves as Legislative Counsel for The Family Foundation, where he has been since 2015. In that role, Josh is actively engaged in public policy development, where he regularly interacts with and advises state and local government officials and frequently addresses various boards, commissions, and legislative committees. 

Brad Huddleston is an internationally respected speaker, consultant, teacher, and author on important issues such as technology and culture. He has worked with universities, schools, churches, and law enforcement. He has spoken to hundreds of thousands worldwide on the advantages of well-used technology tools and the dangers of the growing trend toward technology addiction. Brad has an ongoing collaboration with the Bureau of Market Research (BMR)—an independent company—and its Consumer Neuroscience Division at the University of South Africa. Brad has a degree in Computer Science and a Diploma of Biblical Studies. He is a frequent guest on radio and television and the author of Digital Rehab: Learning to Live Again in the Real World., Digital Cocaine: A Journey Toward iBalance, and The Dark Side of Technology: Restoring Balance in the Digital Age. Brad also hosts the international radio show Brad Huddleston’s Techwise. Brad and his wife, Beth, live in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

Maria Keffler is a co-founder of Advocates Protecting Children and Arlington Parent Coalition. An author, speaker, and teacher with a background in educational psychology, Maria has fought to support families and protect children from unethical activism and dangerous policies around sexuality and transgender ideology since 2018. She is the author of multiple books, including “Desist, Detrans & Detox: Getting Your Child Out of the Gender Cult.” Maria lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband and two of her three children.

Jonathan Greenberg is the Director of Freedom Initiatives at the Jack Miller Family Foundation. He previously served as Senior Vice President with the Haym Salomon Center, a news and public policy group he co-founded, two years as a Vice President at the Illinois Policy Institute, and more than five years at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Jonathan was ordained a rabbi at Hebrew Union College in 2006. He has a master’s degree in public affairs and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Indiana University.

Kenyon C. Knapp, Ph.D., LPC is the Dean for the School of Behavioral Sciences at Liberty University. He has had a private practice for over 20 years, worked in numerous counseling settings, been a counseling professor for over 25 years, and served as a board member for CACREP (the National Counseling Accreditation Board). He has conducted crisis counseling trainings in India, Israel and the West Bank, Uganda, Haiti, Colombia, and many other places around the world. However, his greatest accomplishment comes in the form of his wife and 4 children who keep him multitasking and grateful.

Tod Kline, EdD, has had a long career in educational leadership, as a teacher, principal, and as superintendent over 3 different school districts. His roles have included leadership in Career and Technology Education, Public Charter Education, and Online Education. He has helped boards develop and execute strategic plans that implement goal-oriented operations that specifically address district and community needs.

Yolanda Lemon is a teacher with experience in teaching (K-12), collegiate-level instruction, and Administration for over 17 years. Yolanda is presently an Educator in the Loudoun County Public School System (LCPS) teaching Intro. to Business and Marketing, Business Management, Accounting, and Business Law. She sponsors the student groups: Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and Students for Life. She represented her school as a teacher representative on the Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Committee (STAC) for Loudoun County Public Schools. Yolanda recently graduated from Liberty University’s School of Education with the Executive Certificate in Administration & Supervision and continues to work towards completing a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.).

Ted Lamb is a career educator and has taught on 3 continents. He received his bachelors in social studies education and his masters in special education. Ted has served 2 terms as an elected school board member in the city of Portsmouth, VA. He currently teaches American History, World History, and American Government in an alternative school in the Hampton Roads area.

Steve Newman recently retired from active public service in Virginia after serving for 35 years. He served on Lynchburg City Council and in the Virginia House and Senate. His leadership positions included the President Pro Tempore, the highest elected office in the Senate, Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, Chairman of the Senate Education & Health Committee, and a member of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee since 2012, where he served as a budget negotiator for many years.

Dave Trabert is CEO of Kansas Policy Institute and its subsidiaries – Kansas Justice Institute, The Sentinel, and the Kansas School Board Resource Center.  He is the lead author of two books: Giving Kids a Fighting Chance with School Choice: Resolving the Social Justice Issue Perpetuated by Kansas Public Schools and What was Really the Matter with the Kansas Tax Plan. His other published work includes “A Five-Year Budget Plan for the State of Kansas,” “Student-Focused Funding Solutions for Public Education,” and “Removing Barriers to Better Public Education.” Trabert serves on the Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force and co-chairs the Education Finance Joint Working Group for the American Legislative Exchange Council. 

The Wall Street Journal has published his commentaries, along with National Review, Investor’s Business Daily, and many other national and Kansas newspapers. He graduated cum laude from West Liberty State College with a degree in Business Administration.

Chris Head represents the 3rd District in the Senate of Virginia. Senator Head served 12 years in the Virginia House of Delegates, most recently as Vice Chair of the House Committee on Health, Welfare, and Institutions, and on the Commerce and Energy, Privileges and Elections, and Rules committees. Additionally, he served as Co-Chair of Virginia’s Small Business Commission. In 2022, he received the Free Enterprise Award from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce in recognition of his legislative efforts in support of health insurance options for small businesses and the Industrial Strength Leadership Award from the Virginia Manufacturers Association PAC. Senator Head is a husband, father, grandfather, and business owner, who lives in Botetourt County and owns a senior care business in Roanoke along with Betsy, his wife of 34 years.

Brian M. Kelley, Ph.D., is a full professor and director of the Master of Science program for the School of Behavioral Sciences at Liberty University. Dr. Kelley is an award-winning educator; best teaching award, scholar of the year award at two different universities, researcher of the year from different medical societies, and a widely published scientist and public health expert. Dr. Kelley has worked in academia for over two decades as well as serving a variety of not-for-profit organizations and medical centers as a consultant to help create innovation to support basic and applied biomedical science, technology, and pedagogy in education, prevention research on substance abuse, STD/HIV-AIDS, and mental illness, and workforce development in the areas of technology, healthcare, and rural efforts across the country. Dr. Kelley leverages the culmination of these experiences for an authentic and effective approach to education and community impact.