In 2011, Tami was moved by the risks posed against the causes of life, family, and liberty by increasingly aggressive liberal activists and an attitude of political correctness. In response, she felt called to create a non-profit organization known as the North Carolina Values Coalition. The coalition was established with the goal of influencing elections by electing pro-life, pro-family, and pro-religious liberty candidates and of enacting and protecting laws that recognize the sanctity of life, the primacy of marriage and family, and the fundamental freedom of religious liberty. Since its inception, Tami and the NC Values Coalition have been on the front lines of North Carolina’s major social and political battles.
Some of Tami’s additional experience includes:
– State Chairwoman for Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) and Women’s Speak Out PAC
– Award winning Allied Attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom
– Chairwoman of Vote FOR Marriage NC, the official referendum committee that successfully passed the North Carolina Marriage Amendment
– Lobbyist in the General Assembly for 17 years on pro-family and business issues
– Attorney licensed in North Carolina, Arizona, and Oklahoma
– Former Board Member of a pro-family policy group and Trinity Academy of Raleigh, a Classical Christian School in North Carolina
– Former Board Member of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Council of the Southern Baptist Convention
– Member of the Council of the NC Bar Association’s section on Constitutional Rights
Tami lives in Raleigh with her husband Craig and is the mother of two grown children, and the grandmother of four precious grandchildren.
Mary is the recipient of a number of awards including the National Eagle Forum Homemaker of the Year Award, World Magazine’s Salt and Light Award, Mira Via’s William Wellein Life Award, and was a 2016 Lawyer’s Weekly nominee of the 50 Most Influential Women.
Mary was married for 32 years to her husband, Phil, and has five grown children. She enjoys sailing and horseback riding and traveling with her children.
Ashley has dual undergraduate degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill in History and Nursing. Working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, she cared for extremely premature infants born as early as 22 weeks gestation – some of the smallest and most vulnerable members of our society. She quickly learned that caring for medically fragile babies meant also caring for their mothers and fathers. A major focus of her nursing work was helping parents gain the skills and confidence to be involved in caring for their child.
This passion for family-centered care led Ashley to pursue a PhD in Nursing at UNC Chapel-Hill. Her research focused on family management of childhood health challenges, with a specific focus on families of children with Down syndrome. She found that though the initial diagnosis was often a difficult adjustment, families adapted well to the medical and developmental challenges associated with Down syndrome. Moreover, the families thrived – often saying that the child was their greatest blessing. Additionally, Ashley was a lead instructor and guest lecturer for undergraduate nursing courses at UNC.
Most recently, Ashley was the Campaign Manager for a successful US House of Representatives campaign. Ashley’s background in healthcare, academia, and politics prepared her to join NC Values in the fight to address some of the most pressing current issues in our state, including harmful gender treatments, assaults on parents’ rights, and the need to protect the dignity of life for all people and at all stages of development.
Based in the Charlotte Metro once more, Aaron is deeply committed to defending and advancing life, conservative values, the biblical worldview, and preserving the American heritage of freedom for generations to come. He believes that since North Carolina is the First in Freedom state, it should lead the nation on defining issues of law, policy, and culture, and strives to this end as the Development Relations Manager at NC Values. In this role, Aaron is responsible for cultivating and growing a high-capacity portfolio of freedom-driven North Carolinians, businesses, and foundations who advance the NC Values mission with financial support, as well as helping manage annual events.
Outside of work, Aaron enjoys evangelizing his faith, spending time in Western NC with his family, enjoying the famous Austrian Joseph Haydn’s concertos, attending the occasional NASCAR race, and debating key virtues of architectural integrity and urban design. He and his family attend a Reformed Presbyterian church in the Lake Norman area.
He also serves as a Senior Fellow for Biblical Worldview at the Family Research Council and is a regular contributor to World Opinions. Previously, Mr. Backholm served as legal counsel and Director of What Would You Say? at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview where he developed and launched a growing platform that creates short, animated videos answering common questions about faith and culture.
He served as a legislative attorney for three years and spent 10 years as the President and General Counsel of the Family Policy Institute of Washington in Washington State where he managed educational, legislative, and electoral operations on behalf of life, marriage, religious freedom, and parental rights. He led three ballot initiatives on marriage and gender privacy.
He is a Washington State native who loves travel, sports, and whatever his kids are into. Joseph received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and his law degree from Seattle University. He and his wife Brook have four children.
Most recently, Isaac served as the political director for a statewide Lt. Governor campaign in which he traveled to all 100 counties of North Carolina, helped build and maintain an impressive grassroots network, and directed volunteer operations across the state. Isaac brings a substantial amount of experience to the table in grassroots campaigning and effective neighbor-to-neighbor activism.
Isaac has lived in Wake Forest for the past 15 years and is an active member at a local Baptist church.
Over this period, Leonard served alongside Tami as the Grassroots and Digital Director for the campaign to successfully amend NC’s constitution with a definition of marriage. For his successful efforts, Leonard was awarded the prestigious Williams-White Award for the Practice of Christian Social Concern. In addition to his public service, Leonard served for half a decade as a pastor of a Southern Baptist church comprised primarily of Filipinos in downtown Raleigh called Glory of God Christian Fellowship.
Leonard completed his Ph.D. in Theological Studies with a concentration in Christian Ethics & Political Theology from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. His dissertation appraised covenant as a model for the origination and constitution of the social institutions of the church, the family, and the state. The dissertation was called a “masterpiece” by the committee.
As Digital Director, Leonard directs the many virtual operations of NC Values. From managing the website, to curating the content of the beloved Friday Five, to developing the many digital tools that equip and empower coalition members to defend their values, Leonard’s service is felt throughout most of the organization’s efforts you see day-to-day.
Leonard and his wife Katrina are blessed to be the parents of four children, two boys and two girls each spread two years apart (Charlotte Ann, Olivia Marie, Leland James, and Reagan Leigh).
