Ellen Kimbrough Alexandrakis, Ed.D. | Seminarian, Education Leader, and Public School Advocate

With more than 25 years of experience in education, Dr. Ellen Kimbrough Alexandrakis is a respected public education advocate committed to strengthening schools and expanding opportunity for every student. Grounded in an Ivy League education, she brings both scholarly rigor and practical wisdom to complex education challenges. Ellen is an insightful writer and a down-to-earth presenter known for translating complicated policy and education issues into clear, human, and actionable insights. Her work centers on supporting strong public schools, advancing inclusive practices, and ensuring students are treated with dignity and high expectations.

A principled voice in faith and public life, Ellen advocates for religious freedom and pluralism and speaks thoughtfully against Christian nationalism, emphasizing the importance of maintaining healthy church–state boundaries in public education. Based in Dallas and proudly Texan, Ellen draws on global travel experiences to inform her perspective and leadership. Her United Methodist faith shapes her commitment to service, compassion, and the transformative power of education.

Kerri Harris | Keller ISD Educator and Librarian

Kerri Harris is a lifelong educator, passionate advocate for students, and champion of the freedom to read. Kerri Harris is a lifelong educator, passionate advocate for students, and champion of the freedom to read. Over the course of 33 years in education, Kerri spent 23 years teaching middle school, where she taught across the curriculum and shared her love of books and reading with her students. She eventually followed a dream she had long held and became a school librarian, expanding her reach to readers—and non-readers—throughout her school community.

Kerri believes a school library should be more than a place to find books. It should be a safe place where every student knows they are welcome, valued, and free to simply be themselves. Throughout her career, she worked to create that kind of space for students and to ensure they knew they always had someone in their corner.

Her belief in the goodness of people and in the importance of educating the whole child was deeply challenged in the fall of 2022, when she served on several book challenge committees in Keller ISD. The experience, along with subsequent meetings in which librarians were encouraged to censor their own comments in public forums, became a turning point in Kerri’s understanding of the direction education was taking.

She made the difficult decision to retire in December 2022. Retirement, however, did not mean stepping away from her convictions. Kerri continues to use her voice and experience to advocate for students, libraries, intellectual freedom, and the right of every individual to read, worship, and live according to their own beliefs and choices.

Today, Kerri brings her perspective as an educator, librarian, and outspoken advocate to conversations about education, libraries, censorship, and the role adults play in championing the rights and well-being of every student.

Laney Hawes | Co-founder of the Texas Freedom to Read Project

Laney Hawes is the co-founder of the Texas Freedom to Read Project and a nationally recognized advocate for intellectual freedom in schools and libraries. Her work began after watching her four children lose access to books in their Texas public school libraries and has grown into hands-on grassroots advocacy.

Laney is the 2025 recipient of the Sam G. Whitten Intellectual Freedom Award from the Texas Library Association, and she appears in the Emmy-winning documentary The Librarians. She believes protecting the freedom to read and the First Amendment is the responsibility of every American, in every community.

Chris Tackett—Former Granbury ISD Board Trustee and Civil Rights Advocate

Chris Tackett is a former school board trustee who noticed change happening in his community and started digging in. Chris has been tracking Texas campaign finance since 2016, which helped with the “what.” His wife, Mendi, dug into the “why,” finding experts to help put a name to what they had been seeing. Ever since, they’ve been speaking out against Christian nationalism, digging into how it manifests in our communities and politics, sharing what they learned, and starting SeeItNameItFightIt.com.

Chris has been a source for the Texas Tribune, Rolling Stone, Politico, Texas Observer, Texas Monthly, and many other news organizations. Chris was featured in the CNN documentary “Deep In The Pockets Of Texas” and the Emmy-winning documentary “The Librarians.”