Executive Director

Ken Thomas is the Executive Director of the Kansas First Amendment Foundation. Ken is an award-winning Kansas Teacher Hall of Fame educator and coach, with over 30 years of experience teaching history, government, and political science at the middle school, high school, and undergraduate levels. He has also taught graduate-level classes at Rockhurst, Graceland, and Baker Universities. During this time, Ken initiated and grew the Kansas We the People program, raising support and fundraising to take 12 teams of high school students to the national stage in simulated congressional hearings on civics topics. Outside of education, Ken previously served as the CEO of Winning Directions Inc., which provided professional development and executive training for educators, corporations, and non-profit leaders. His contributions to the community were recognized in 2013 with the prestigious Johnson County Liberty Bell Award, which is given by the Johnson County Bar Association to non-lawyers who have made exceptional civic contributions.

Founder and ex officio member of the Johnson County First Amendment Foundation Advisory Board

Of Counsel | Shook, Hardy & Bacon

Gene is a retired partner in the law firm of Shook, Hardy, and Bacon L.L.P., having more than 60 years of experience in the practice of law. He has tried more than 100 jury trials and has argued over 100 appellate cases in his distinguished legal career. Gene graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law and was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus for his contributions to the community and legal profession. Gene, along with Judge David J. Waxse, served as council for the litigants in Case vs. USD 233 Olathe that led to the founding of the Johnson County First Amendment Foundation and eventually the Kansas 1st Amendment Foundation. Gene has been awarded numerous honors including the Robert K. Weary Award from the Kansas Bar Association, the William Kahrs Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kansas Association of Defense Counsel, and more recently he received the President’s Award from the Johnson County Bare Association and the Lifetime Achievement Award from FosterAdopt Connect for his work helping to complete more than 1300 pro bono adoptions of foster children.

JCFAF Advisory Board Member

Pro Bono Attorney/Lathrop GPM

Sara began her professional career as a Social Studies educator before entering the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and graduating in 2014 with “highest pro bono honors.” Sara began her legal career as an assistant public defender for the Missouri State Public Defender’s Office in Kansas City and then joined Lathrop GPM in 2021 as their Pro Bono Attorney, representing clients in every stage of the criminal defense process. She teaches Trial Advocacy 1 classes as an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, her alma mater. She has won numerous awards including being named to the Missouri and Kansas list of Super Lawyers and Rising Stars in 2021, 2022, and again in 2023. Sara began working with the Johnson County First Amendment Foundation in 2012 and was instrumental in creating the Constitutional Lecture Series program for the foundation. Presentations by then retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Professor Laurence Tribe, and First Amendment attorney and scholar Floyd Abrams highlighted that series. In 2015 Sara joined the Johnson County First Amendment Foundation Advisory Board.

JCFAF Advisory Board Member | KS1stAFoundation Board of Directors

Assistant Professor | Northwest Missouri State University School of Education

Dr. Tina Ellsworth is an Assistant Professor of Education at Northwest Missouri State University and has had a wide-ranging career in education. Beginning as a Social Studies Teacher for grades 7-12 in the Harrisonville School District (MO), Tina has been an adjunct instructor at Baker University, Emporia State University, and the University of Kansas; she was also a Senior Economic Education Specialist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, MO and served as the K-12 Social Studies Coordinator for Olathe Public Schools. Tina also serves as Vice President for the National Council for the Social Studies Board of Directors and will ascend to the presidency on July 1st, 2025 for a four-year term. In 2019, Tina was selected to be a member of the Teaching with Primary Sources Consortium, a program created by the Library of Congress to share primary source materials with teachers and offer professional development to effectively use those materials in their classrooms.

JCFAF Advisory Board Member | KS1stAFoundation Board of Directors

Partner | Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.

Mitchell Engel is a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon where he counsels clients on environmental law issues, including toxic tort and exposure litigation. Mitch earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in mathematics, which he then used to understand the technical aspects of environmental and regulatory law. His ability to translate complex concepts into clear, comprehensible ideas earned him a two-year clerkship with The Hon. Gary A. Fenner of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, where he drafted 150+ orders ruling on motions seeking dismissal, relief from judgment, remand, and jury instructions in both civil and criminal matters. Mitch also serves on the Board of Directors for the Kansas Appleseed Foundation.

JCFAF Advisory Board Member

Partner and Co-Chair Environmental & Toxic Tort Litigation | Shook, Hardy, & Bacon L.L.P.

Dave has more than 35 years of experience in litigation and environmental law. He has been responsible for directing and handling litigation on both the state and federal levels on issues ranging from environmental liability and allocation of responsibility to individual, group and class action toxic tort claims.  In 2022, Dave was inducted into the Legal 500 United States Hall of Fame and was named The Best Lawyers in America’s “Lawyer of the Year” in 2019 and 2022. He has also been named a Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyer. Dave joined the JCFAF Advisory Board in 2021 and he has been instrumental in helping the growth of the Kansas 1st Amendment Foundation.

Teacher Advisory Board Member

Social Studies Educator | USD 229 Blue Valley Valley School District

Matthew Christensen is an award-winning educator, dedicated to his students and the educational community at large. Matt is know for the positive educational environment he creates in his classroom through his rigorous, inclusive, and fun activities. He joined the Advisory Board of the Johnson County First Amendment Foundation in June of 2021 and joined the Teacher Advisory Board of the Kansas 1st Amendment Foundation in the Fall of 2022.

In 2023, Matt was awarded the Emporia State University Teachers College Kansas Master Teacher Award. Matt has positively impacted thousands of students during his career through his teaching of United States History, Advanced Placement United States History, Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics, and his sponsorship of the Blue Valley Northwest We the People program. The We the People program is sponsored by the Center for Civic Education. He has also participated in the CCE’s Civitas Program, which assisted the emerging democracies in the former Soviet Union establish civic education programs. But his influence has not only been felt by his students and international educators, but he has also influenced hundreds of educators and parents across the nation through his speeches and participation in the development of professional development opportunities dealing with dyslexia. The inspiring story of his struggles to overcome his disability has given hope to thousands of parents and students looking for answers to their questions about dyslexia.

Since joining the Kansas 1st Amendment Foundation and the Johnson County First Amendment Foundation Matt has been instrumental in generating and designing the programs that are at the heart of both foundations’ work. One of Matt’s tremendous ideas turned into a four-part national professional development webinar entitled, Teaching in Realtime: How Well Does the US Federal System Respond to Public Health Crises, sponsored by the Center for Civic Education, Kansas State University’s Center for Social Studies Education, and the Johnson County First Amendment Foundation which can be found on YouTube.

Founder and ex officio member of the Johnson County First Amendment Foundation Advisory Board

June 29, 1945-March 4, 2023

U.S. District Court, District of Kansas Judge Retired | Shook, Hardy & Bacon