Ben Carson
Dr. Ben Carson is a world-renowned neurosurgeon and served as the 17th Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Carson received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Yale University in 1973 and earned a medical degree from the University of Michigan in 1977, and later Johns Hopkins University Medical School in Baltimore, Maryland. In mid-2013 he retired as a surgeon, and the following year he joined the Fox News Channel as a commentator. In 2014 he wrote "One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America’s Future," and the following year he entered the 2016 U.S. presidential election race. In the 2015 volume "A More Perfect Union: What We the People Can Do to Reclaim Our Constitutional Liberties," he issued his interpretations of the mandate established by the U.S. Constitution. He received numerous awards during his career, including the 2008 Presidential Medal of Freedom, given to him by U.S. President George W. Bush.
Kriss Cloninger III
Kriss Cloninger III served AFLAC Incorporated as its president and a member of the Board of Directors from 2001 until his retirement at the end of 2017, and he also served as the chief financial officer from 1992-2016. In 2006, Institutional Investor magazine named him Best CFO in the Insurance/Life category in America for the third consecutive year. Before joining AFLAC, he was a principal in the Atlanta office of KPMG from 1977-1992, and a partner in Rudd and Wisdom, Consulting Actuaries, Austin, Texas from 1974-1977. He served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force from 1971-1973. He also served as lead independent director at Global Payments Inc. (GPN) from 2019 until his retirement in 2023 and as lead independent director of Total Systems Services Inc. before its merger with GPN in 2019. Born in Houston, Texas, Cloninger holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas at Austin and is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries. He and his wife, Lisa, have two sons and two daughters; one son-in-law is a proud alumnus of WTAMU. Cloninger and his wife now spend their time in Amarillo, Texas, and Angel Fire, New Mexico, tending to nine grandchildren, traveling, and participating in church activities.
Lee Crisp
Harry Lee Crisp III, or Lee as he is commonly referred to, served the last 20 years as an owner of Pepsi MidAmerica, with the last 10 years in the role of president. In this capacity, he was responsible for one of the largest privately held Pepsi franchises in the nation. Pepsi MidAmerica produces about 24 million servings of beverages each month. Lee graduated from Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana, and earned the Boy Scouts’ Eagle Scout and Roman Catholic Ad Altare Dei awards while there. He went on to attend Southern Illinois University and earned a bachelor’s in business administration. Upon graduation, he entered the Marine Corps as an officer. Lee was stationed at Camp Pendleton, California, where he was the Officer-in-Charge of the newly formed Command Information Center, a logistics command and coordination center. The Center’s mission was to test new ideas and methods regarding expeditionary logistics. Lee was promoted to the rank of Captain and received the Meritorious Service Medal before completing his service with the Marines in October 1996. Following his active-duty service, Lee continued to serve as a leader and board member for many charitable organizations. Lee has been awarded 44 patents for his inventions. His patent portfolio has been licensed to the major soft drink and appliance companies for use throughout the United States. Lee has served in several leadership and philanthropic roles, including being a founding member of the Smithsonian Council for American History, a Patron of the Arts at the Vatican Museums, chairman of the board for the Independent Bottlers Association and a founding member of the board of directors and vice chairman of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.
Alex Fairly
Alex Fairly serves as the chairman of The OccuNet Company, bringing a wealth of experience as a nationally recognized expert in various facets of risk and cost management. Fairly’s career began with the development of innovative solutions for the professional sports industry, leading to engagements with prominent entities such as the NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS, and over 400 professional sports teams. He has successfully developed solutions focused on reducing the cost of risk, gaining recognition and trust from major U.S. corporations including ViacomCBS, Disney, Tyson Foods, Warner, and others. He has been honored with multiple industry-related awards, including Risk and Insurance’s Power Broker and Risk Innovator Awards.
Tim Lambert
Tim Lambert, president of Texas Home School Coalition (the state homeschool support organization since 1986), has been involved in homeschool leadership in Texas since 1984. He and his wife, Lyndsay, taught their four now-grown children at home for 16 years, graduating the last two in 2000. As the head of the organization for the leading homeschool state in the country, Lambert is recognized as an authority on home education issues in Texas. In this capacity, he has testified before numerous Texas legislative committees on issues related to homeschooling. He often deals with state government agencies, including the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, on home education issues and has served as an expert witness on home education in a number of court cases. He has also addressed such conferences as the Texas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers on the topic. Tim holds a bachelor’s in political science from Texas Tech University and is active in the political arena, having served eight years as Republican National Committeeman for Texas. He is committed to serving the homeschooling community and to protecting parents’ right to choose the method of education of their children.
Kevin D. Roberts
Dr. Kevin D. Roberts was named president of The Heritage Foundation in October 2021. In September 2023, Roberts was named president of Heritage Action for America and serves both organizations in a joint role. Roberts previously served as the CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), an Austin-based nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute and the largest state think tank in the nation. Under Roberts’ leadership, TPPF more than doubled in size. He also expanded the Texas think tank’s influence nationwide, opening an office in Washington, D.C., so that TPPF research might better inform federal policy debates.
As president of The Heritage Foundation, Roberts will continue to lead policy research efforts on many of the issues he championed at TPPF, including education, health care, border security, election integrity and more. A lifelong educator, Roberts earned his Ph.D. in American history from the University of Texas. After several years of teaching history at the collegiate level, Roberts, in 2006 left the university to found John Paul the Great Academy, a co-ed, K-12 Catholic liberal arts school in Lafayette, Louisiana. In 2013, he resigned from the academy to become president of Wyoming Catholic College. In addition to his doctorate, Roberts holds a master’s degree in history from Virginia Tech and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Roberts and his wife have four children.
Walter V. Wendler
Dr. Walter V. Wendler has served as president of West Texas A&M University since his appointment to the position in September 2016. He came to WT from Southern Illinois University–Carbondale, where he served as chancellor from 2001- 2007. He later returned to teaching architecture and retired as director of the School of Architecture at SIU at the end of 2015. Before joining SIU, Wendler served as vice chancellor for planning and system integration at The Texas A&M University System. He previously had served as executive assistant to the president, dean of the College of Architecture and other administrative and faculty roles at Texas A&M University in College Station.