About - Defending Education

We believe our children’s education should be based on scholarship and facts, and should nurture their development into the happy, resilient, free-thinking, educated citizens every democracy needs. Our classrooms should include rigorous instruction in history, civics, literature, math, the sciences, and the ideas and values that enrich our country.

Yet in recent years activists have targeted public, private, and charter schools across the country with a campaign to impose ideologically driven curriculum with a concerning and often divisive emphasis on students’ group identities: race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and gender. Many school districts and private schools have spent large sums of money on these efforts and many more are preparing to do the same.

This new educational mission is not only at war with basic American values, but also with childhood. Couched in vague slogans about “social justice,” the new curriculum divides our children into “oppressor” and “oppressed” groups. To one, it teaches guilt and shame. To the other, grievance and resentment. More broadly, throughout the school, it sows distrust, unhappiness, confusion, and fear.

Schools are adopting this illiberal mission at the behest of a narrow group of activists, union leaders and high-priced consultants— without the consent of the students, parents, and communities whose interests the schools are supposed to serve. Those who dissent risk being called ugly names and shamed into silence.

This must stop. If you are disturbed by these destructive practices in our schools, you are not alone. If you want our schools to return to teaching our children all that they need to become the best version of themselves, please join us. We come from diverse races, religions, economic backgrounds, and political orientations — but we all agree that it is time to join together and stop this madness in our schools.

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Leadership

Our Team


Nicole Neily

President


Nicole Neily is the President & Founder of Defending Education. She is also the founder of Speech First, a national campus free speech organization, and has worked at the Independent Women’s Forum and the Cato Institute. She is the mother of two school age children.

Sarah Parshall Perry

Vice President and Legal Fellow


Sarah Parshall Perry is the Vice President and Legal Fellow at Defending Education. She is a former Senior Counsel to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, and former Senior Legal Fellow in the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation. Her writing and advocacy in the areas of parental rights and constitutional, civil rights, and administrative law have been cited by or yielded appearances in both national and international media outlets, including the Associated Press, BBC World News, ABC News, Fox News, The Washington Times, NPR, The Hill, and The New York Times, among others. She testifies regularly on Capitol Hill, serves on the executive committee for civil rights of the Federalist Society, has a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, and is the author of two books on the trials and triumphs of raising children on the autism spectrum.

Erika Sanzi

Director of Outreach


Erika Sanzi is the Director of Outreach at Defending Education. She is a former educator and elected school board member and currently serves on the board of advisors for The Boys Initiative. She is the mother of three teenage sons.

Marissa Fallon

Marissa Fallon

Director of Advocacy


Marissa Fallon is the Director of Advocacy for Defending Education. She is a founding member of Coalition for TJ, a group of parents and community members in Northern Virginia and has had leadership roles in her Parent Teacher Association. She has over two decades experience as a business owner and researcher. She is the mother of two sons.

Rachel Hannabass

Rachel Metz

Director of Operations


Rachel is the Director of Operations at Defending Education. She has worked for the Institute for Justice and the Leadership Institute. Prior to working in the nonprofit sector, Rachel spent time working in the education system.

Andrew Kozusko

Director of Development


Andrew Kozusko is the Director of Development for Defending Education. He has been working in development since 2018 after graduating from LaGrange College with his Masters in Philanthropy and Development.

Paul Runko

Director of Strategic Initiatives, K-12 Programs


Paul Runko is the Director of Strategic Initiatives, K-12 Programs for Defending Education. Paul has many years of experience in media as well as in education. He is the father of two.

Scarlen Valderaz

Advocacy Advisor


Scarlen is an Advocacy Advisor for Defending Education. She has a background in telecommunications and business ownership. She is the mother of four children.

Casey Ryan

Investigative Reporter


Casey Ryan is an Investigative Reporter for Defending Education. He has several years of experience working for nonprofits and campaigns as a writer and researcher. He has written for several statewide and national candidates in recent elections.

Rhyen Staley

Researcher


Rhyen Staley is a Researcher for Defending Education. He has fifteen years of experience as a public and private school teacher and coach at the middle, high school and college level. He is also the father of two school aged children.

Isabella Rossini

Donor Relations Officer


Isabella Rossini is a Donor Relations Officer at Defending Education. Previously she was a Regional Field Coordinator for the Leadership Institute. Isabella graduated from Benedictine College with her degree in Communications with an emphasis in Political Science.

Ashley Johnson

Digital Communications Manager


Ashley Johnson is the Digital Communications Manager for Defending Education. She has worked in Communications for various non-profits since 2015. She is the mother of three children.

Randall Austin

Development Coordinator


Randall Austin is a Development Coordinator at Defending Education. A graduate of Lynn University with degrees in Political Science and Sports Management, he has been using his skills in development to advance the organization's mission since joining the team.

Kendall Tietz

Investigative Reporter


Kendall Tietz is an investigative reporter for Defending Education. She previously worked as a writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, Kendall was a Robert L. Bartley Fellow for the Wall Street Journal Opinion page and an education fellow at the Daily Caller News Foundation. Kendall graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Journalism.

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