I’m pleased to introduce Keli Carender, the newest staff member at the National Association of Scholars. Keli joined NAS as Communications Director on January 8, 2018.
Keli is a graduate of Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, where she majored in Mathematics and Biology. She also received a Postgraduate Certificate of Education in Secondary Math at Oxford University. Before joining NAS, Keli was the National Communications Manager for Tea Party Patriots, and served in a variety of communications roles for other nonprofit organizations devoted to the ideals of individual freedom and self-responsibility. She has also taught math to both children and adults; performed improv comedy for over ten years; and lived and worked abroad in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and England.
And in 2009, Keli organized the first protest against Pres. Obama’s Stimulus Bill. She is one of the original founders of the Tea Party, as well as one of the leaders who made it effective over the next several years. “I brought a movement to national prominence” isn’t in an ordinary CV, but it is in Keli’s. I’m delighted that she’s joining NAS.
Keli will manage NAS’s communications for our work of defending Western civilization and the pursuit of truth in higher education. She will plan and execute our publicity campaigns, cultivate relationships with members of the media, and lead our efforts to make the NAS’s work known throughout America.
Here is what Keli had to say about starting at NAS:
Higher education today is at a crossroads. College campuses embrace an increasingly illiberal culture, one that rewards lockstep philosophical conformity, punishes dissent, and suffocates intellectual freedom. With boldness and the highest standards of integrity and excellence, the National Association of Scholars has entered into the fray. The voice of NAS, its members, and likeminded citizens is vital and potent, and its work is crucial in the search for truth and the defense of freedom. It is my honor and pleasure to contribute to this indispensable organization so that together we can once more look to higher education as a place where students may grow in knowledge, wisdom, integrity, and respect for diversity of thought.
Please join me in welcoming Keli to NAS. She may be reached at Carender@nas.org.
Photo Credit: Keli Carender.
