Akram Elias is a nationally respected scholar, speaker, and civic educator whose work explores American ideals, moral philosophy, and the foundations of the Great Experiment in self‑government. A past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Washington, D.C., he is widely recognized for his leadership in Masonic education and his writings on ethics, symbolism, and character formation, including The 1723 Constitutions of the Freemasons: The Indispensable Trowel—Cementing America’s Foundations. In recognition of his lifelong commitment to service and civic renewal, he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2018.

Akram&nbsp;Elias is a nationally respected scholar, speaker, and civic educator whose work explores American ideals, moral philosophy, and the foundations of the Great Experiment in self‑government. A past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Washington, D.C., he is widely recognized for his leadership in Masonic education and his writings on ethics, symbolism, and character formation, including&nbsp;The 1723 Constitutions of the Freemasons: The Indispensable Trowel&mdash;Cementing America&rsquo;s Foundations. In recognition of his lifelong commitment to service and civic renewal, he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2018.

We are E Pluribus Unum – out of many one. Our show is about unity. We believe there are many people in America who care about our country regardless of their background or political affiliations. We are here to talk about how we may come together for the betterment of our country and our own well-being. We believe in the motto “Seek first to understand before you judge.” If we understand each other better, we will be better able to help each other, and our country will survive and thrive.

We are E Pluribus Unum &ndash; out of many one. Our show is about unity. We believe there are many people in America who care about our country regardless of their background or political affiliations. We are here to talk about how we may come together for the betterment of our country and our own well-being. We believe in the motto &ldquo;Seek first to understand before you judge.&rdquo; If we understand each other better, we will be better able to help each other, and our country will survive and thrive.

The E Pluribus Unum Show

We are a pluribus Unum – out of many one. Our show is about unity. We believe there are many people in America who care about our country regardless of their background or political affiliations. We are here to talk about how we may come together for the betterment of our country and our own well-being. We believe in the motto “Seek first to understand before you judge.” If we understand each other better, we will be better able to help each other, and our country will survive and thrive.

We are a pluribus Unum – out of many one. Our show is about unity. We believe there are many people in America who care about our country regardless of their background or political affiliations. We are here to talk about how we may come together for the betterment of our country and our own well-being. We believe in the motto “Seek first to understand before you judge.” If we understand each other better, we will be better able to help each other, and our country will survive and thrive.

Akram Elias -- NAHFMO Board of Directors

David Randall is Director of Research at the National Association of Scholars (NAS), where he has written extensively on higher education policy and academic integrity. He earned a Ph.D. in history from Rutgers University, an M.F.A. in fiction writing from Columbia University, a master's degree in library science from the Palmer School at Long Island University, and a B.A. from Swarthmore College. Before joining NAS, he was the sole librarian at the John McEnroe Library at New York Studio School. At NAS, he has co-authored The Irreproducibility Crisis of Modern Science: Causes, Consequences, and the Road to Reform (2018), and has written reports on civics education, social justice education, college common readings, and the College Board's Advanced Placement European History examination, including Making Citizens: How American Universities Teach Civics (2017) and Beach Books, a multi-year study of college common readings. His academic scholarship includes The Concept of Conversation: From Cicero's Sermo to the Grand Siècle's Conversation (2018) and The Conversational Enlightenment: The Reconception of Rhetoric in Eighteenth-Century Thought (2019). He has also written on the irreproducibility crisis in science for The Wall Street Journal and The Hill, and was a member of the Arizona Department of Education's first Steering Committee for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, the nation's first education savings account program.

David Randall is Director of Research at the National Association of Scholars (NAS), where he has written extensively on higher education policy and academic integrity. He earned a Ph.D. in history from Rutgers University, an M.F.A. in fiction writing from Columbia University, a master's degree in library science from the Palmer School at Long Island University, and a B.A. from Swarthmore College. Before joining NAS, he was the sole librarian at the John McEnroe Library at New York Studio School. At NAS, he has co-authored The Irreproducibility Crisis of Modern Science: Causes, Consequences, and the Road to Reform (2018), and has written reports on civics education, social justice education, college common readings, and the College Board's Advanced Placement European History examination, including Making Citizens: How American Universities Teach Civics (2017) and Beach Books, a multi-year study of college common readings. His academic scholarship includes The Concept of Conversation: From Cicero's Sermo to the Grand Si&egrave;cle's Conversation (2018) and The Conversational Enlightenment: The Reconception of Rhetoric in Eighteenth-Century Thought (2019). He has also written on the irreproducibility crisis in science for The Wall Street Journal and The Hill, and was a member of the Arizona Department of Education's first Steering Committee for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, the nation's first education savings account program.

David Randall -- National Association of Scholars 

Matthew Gibson is the Executive Director of Virginia Humanities, a role he was appointed to in 2017, where he has led the organization's branding, visioning, and strategic planning efforts. He got his start in the digital and public humanities while pursuing his MA and PhD in English and American Studies at the University of Virginia, and in 1998 became assistant, and later associate, director of the University's Electronic Text Center. In 2005, he joined Virginia Humanities (then known as the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities) to create and build Encyclopedia Virginia, and between 2008 and 2013 helped build a $2.5 million endowment to secure the editor's position and the project's future. As director of digital initiatives beginning in 2008, he served as principal investigator and director for three NEH grants and helped secure an organization-wide award from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for a two-year project engaging local communities on racism and bias in Virginia's historical narratives. In 2021, he led a fundraising and planning effort to relocate Virginia Humanities' offices and build the state's first public humanities center. He is an ex-officio member of the Virginia Association of Museums board, serves on Virginia's Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission and Virginia's African American Cultural Resources Task Force, and is a member of the Federation of State Humanities Councils' Board of Directors, where he chairs the legislative committee.

Matthew Gibson is the Executive Director of Virginia Humanities, a role he was appointed to in 2017, where he has led the organization's branding, visioning, and strategic planning efforts. He got his start in the digital and public humanities while pursuing his MA and PhD in English and American Studies at the University of Virginia, and in 1998 became assistant, and later associate, director of the University's Electronic Text Center. In 2005, he joined Virginia Humanities (then known as the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities) to create and build Encyclopedia Virginia, and between 2008 and 2013 helped build a $2.5 million endowment to secure the editor's position and the project's future. As director of digital initiatives beginning in 2008, he served as principal investigator and director for three NEH grants and helped secure an organization-wide award from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for a two-year project engaging local communities on racism and bias in Virginia's historical narratives. In 2021, he led a fundraising and planning effort to relocate Virginia Humanities' offices and build the state's first public humanities center. He is an ex-officio member of the Virginia Association of Museums board, serves on Virginia's Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission and Virginia's African American Cultural Resources Task Force, and is a member of the Federation of State Humanities Councils' Board of Directors, where he chairs the legislative committee.

Matthew Gibson -- Virginia Humanities 

Captain Kevin Miller, USN (Ret.), is a 24-year veteran of the U.S. Navy and a former tactical naval aviator who operationally flew the F/A-18C Hornet and A-7E Corsair II. He is the author of the Raven One trilogy of contemporary carrier aviation fiction, and in June 2020 he published his long-awaited historical novel, The Silver Waterfall, which went on to win five writing awards, including the 2023 CIBA Hemingway Award for excellence in 20th Century Wartime Fiction. The book tells the story of the men who fought the Battle of Midway over three momentous days in June 1942, capturing their uncertainty, determination, fear, and courage under crushing pressure. Drawing on his years as a naval aviator flying combat aircraft from carriers, in command, and on command staffs, along with his association with the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, which gave him access to rare documents and knowledgeable sources, Miller brought an authentic sense of cockpit and command reality to the novel's characters.

Captain Kevin Miller, USN (Ret.), is a 24-year veteran of the U.S. Navy and a former tactical naval aviator who operationally flew the F/A-18C Hornet and A-7E Corsair II. He is the author of the Raven One trilogy of contemporary carrier aviation fiction, and in June 2020 he published his long-awaited historical novel, The Silver Waterfall, which went on to win five writing awards, including the 2023 CIBA Hemingway Award for excellence in 20th Century Wartime Fiction. The book tells the story of the men who fought the Battle of Midway over three momentous days in June 1942, capturing their uncertainty, determination, fear, and courage under crushing pressure. Drawing on his years as a naval aviator flying combat aircraft from carriers, in command, and on command staffs, along with his association with the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, which gave him access to rare documents and knowledgeable sources, Miller brought an authentic sense of cockpit and command reality to the novel's characters.

Akram Elias -- NAHFMO Board of Directors

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