Executive Director

Ken Thomas is the Executive Director of the Kansas First Amendment Foundation. Ken is an award-winning educator with over 30 years of experience teaching history, government, political science, social studies methods, and leadership from middle school through the undergraduate level. He has also taught graduate-level classes at Rockhurst, Graceland, and Baker Universities. During his career as an educator, Ken helped grow the Center for Civic Education’s Kansas We the People program, raising support and fundraising to take 12 teams of high school students to the national finals 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, given by the Johnson County Bar Association to non-lawyers who have made exceptional civic contributions. His teaching excellence was recognized with his 2023 induction into the Kansas Teacher Hall of Fame in Dodge City.

Secretary | KS1stAFoundation Board of Directors

Assistant Professor | University of Kansas School of Business

Patrick Downes is an Associate Professor in Management at the University of Kansas School of Business, and previously taught at Texas Christian University and Rutgers University-New Brunswick. His area of study includes employees’ contexts, employee motivation, and research methods in organizations. Patrick’s work has been published in several academic journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, the Journal of Applied Psychology, and Harvard Business Review. He has also written an instructional simulation for teaching Strategic Human Resource Management and is a member of the Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology and the Interdisciplinary Network for Group Research.

Lacie Griffin is the Collection Development Manager at Johnson County Library. She serves as chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee for the Kansas Library Association (KLA) and the project lead for the Kansas Freedom Helpline for the American Library Association (ALA).  Lacie is also a member of the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom Law for Librarians (L4L) cohort, where she serves as a trainer for the state of Kansas. She has presented on the topic of censorship and intellectual freedom at both the state and national levels. In 2025, she was recognized by KLA as an Intellectual Freedom Champion. Lacie has worked in libraries for over 25 years, both as a school and public librarian, and received her master's in library science from the University of Missouri.

Treasurer | KS1stAFoundation Board of Directors

Justin Joo is a senior accountant and manager at Ong & Company CPA. At Ong & Company, Justin primarily works with small businesses, managing their accounting services and helping clients with bookkeeping, cash forecasting, and tax planning. Justin graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in finance and is working to become a CPA.

The Law Office of Reshad Staitieh & Conflict Resolution Center - St. Louis

Formerly of Overland Park, KS, Reshad Staitieh is the founder of The Law Office of Reshad Staitieh. After graduating from law school, Reshad moved to Washington, D.C., to serve as a Staff Attorney for one of the nation’s largest civil rights and advocacy organizations. There, he represented individuals who had experienced discrimination in the workplace, at school, or while traveling. He also litigated constitutional issues in federal court. In 2016, Reshad relocated to St. Louis to begin his private practice, using his background in dispute resolution to find solutions for his clients. Reshad currently serves as the Interim Executive Director for the Conflict Resolution Center - St. Louis, where he uses his experience in non-profit program development to enhance the role of conflict resolution by making it more visible, more useful, and more accessible to the entire community.

Brian Tadtman is Senior Counsel at Levy Craig Law Firm in Kansas City, where he practices civil litigation in Kansas and Missouri state courts and in federal court. His practice covers commercial and business disputes, construction, real estate, insurance coverage, professional liability, and personal injury and wrongful death matters, and he represents clients on both sides of the caption. A fourth-generation construction professional, Brian brings firsthand knowledge of the building trades to his construction practice. He received his law degree from the University of Colorado Law School and his undergraduate degree from Kansas State University, and he is admitted to practice in Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado.

Christopher “CT” Thomas is the current Program Director of Education and Learning for the Accelerating Respect, Connection, and Community (ARCC) Team as well as the Children’s Mercy Berry Institute (CMBI) at Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas City. He received his Masters in Communications, Marketing and Public Relations from Wake Forest University and his PhD in Communication and Public Advocacy from the University of Iowa. In addition to his work in healthcare, CT is an Adjunct Professor of Communication teaching courses in Debate & Advocacy, Intercultural Communication, and Conflict Management. Their academic work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals including Rhetoric Society Quarterly, Southern Journal of Communication, and Women & Language. He is also co-author of Water, Rhetoric, and Social Justice: A Critical Confluence.

Daniel Weddle is the Emeritus Clinical Professor of Law and Co-Director of Academic Support at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. He joined the UMKC School of Law in 1996 after a career as a high school English teacher and administrator. His focus has been issues in educational law, including violence and bullying in schools. While on leave from the School of Law, Daniel served as interim dean of operations for the UMKC School of Education, helped develop their Urban Education Program, and piloted a program placing seniors from the School of Education in the KCMOSD schools as full-time teachers with KCMOSD mentors. In addition to his educational law classes, he has taught Constitutional Law, First Amendment Law, the Lawyering Process, and Advanced Legal Writing.