Bill Shields is a native of Charleston, West Virginia. In 1967, he received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In 1974, he graduated with his Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia Law School. Mr. Shields has nearly 40 years of civil litigation experience. His practice is concentrated in the areas of personal injury, product liability, medical malpractice, workers' compensation and criminal law.

Jen Patja has dedicated her career to strengthening constitutional self-government through her work with the Center for Civic Education and Montpelier’s Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution, where she served as Deputy Director. She is the producer and editor of “Rational Security,” a weekly foreign policy and national security roundup, and “The Lawfare Podcast.”

Dr. Bell is Professor of Political Science and Dean of Academic Affairs at Randolph-Macon College. She is a former American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow on the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary and a former United States Supreme Court fellow at the United States Sentencing Commission in Washington, DC, as well as the author of numerous books and academic articles.

Kelly Carmichael Booz is the Manager of Online Resources and Dissemination for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), overseeing the AFT’s PreK-12 publications and digital content through Share My Lesson and AFT’s E-Learning. Kelly is currently a member of the Alexandria City School Board, where she also served from 2013–2015. 

Preston Bryant is a senior vice president at McGuireWoods Consulting where he works in the firm’s Infrastructure and Economic Development group. He has served in local, state, and federal elected and appointed office. His expertise lies in waste, wastewater, and energy generation projects, and he advises clients on project site selection and regulatory affairs.

Bill Foster's professional background is investments, financial system application design, and strategic planning. He has a broad background in Virginia, Florida, on Wall Street, and in Massachusetts in banking, securities trading and research, consulting, asset and liability management, as well as serving on the board of directors at a financial institution. 

Jennifer Hoffman’s career path has led her to James Madison’s Montpelier three different times, thus James Madison’s words and writings have been a constant backdrop in her life. Jennifer has held multiple event planning jobs over her career. While working at the Association of Social Work Boards as their Convention & Meetings Manager, she served as primary staff of the Program & Education Committee, assisting them to select suitable themes and speakers for the Association’s annual education meeting.