I. Beverly Lake, Jr. Chair in Constitutional Studies and Chief Legal Officer, John Locke Foundation
Jeanette Doran is the I. Beverly Lake, Jr. Chair in Constitutional Studies and Senior Counsel at the John Locke Foundation.
Doran began her legal career as a federal law clerk in the Middle District of North Carolina after graduating with honors from Campbell Law School. She then served as the Research and Writing Attorney in the appeals section of the Federal Public Defender’s Office, appearing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. In 2004, she joined the UNC–Chapel Hill School of Government, and a year later became staff attorney at NCICL, ultimately rising to executive director in 2011. Appointed in 2013 by the Governor to chair the Division of Employment Security’s Board of Review, she completed that public service in 2019.
Doran is also the president of the North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law (NCICL), and she serves on the state’s Rules Review Commission. She is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Fourth Circuit, multiple federal district courts, and all North Carolina courts. Doran holds a Juris Doctor from Campbell University.
Executive Vice President and Director of Litigation, EdChoice Legal Advocates
Before founding a public interest law firm at EdChoice, Tom Fisher served as Indiana’s first Solicitor General from 2005-2023. Fisher has argued dozens of high-profile cases before both the Indiana Supreme Court and the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and five cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. A two-time recipient of the National Association of Attorneys General Best Brief Award, Fisher is a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and a Sagamore of the Wabash. Fisher is a graduate of Wabash College and Indiana University Maurer School of Law, where he serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law.
Co-Founder, The Innovation Project and Author, EducationNC
Ann McColl is a lawyer, historian, and writer. Her positions have included co-founder and president of The Innovation Project; legislative director for the State Board of Education; general counsel for the North Carolina Association of Educators; general counsel for the North Carolina Association of School Administrators and the North Carolina School Superintendents Association; and legal counsel and director of policy for the North Carolina School Boards Association. She recently completed an interim appointment as CEO and president for the Public School Forum. She also has served as associate professor of educational leadership at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte College of Education; visiting faculty at the School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill; and adjunct faculty for the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Education and UNC School of Law.
Leandro v. State Litigation and the North Carolina Constitutional Right to Education
Ms. McColl submitted an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the NC School Boards Association for the 1997 Leandro decision; an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the NC Association of School Administrators for the 2004 Leandro decision; an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the NC Association of Educators for the 2013 Leandro decision; and joined the amicus curiae brief submitted by legal scholars for the 2022 Leandro decision. She has given presentations across the state on the history of the NC constitutional right to education, including reenactments at the State Capitol of the 1868 Constitutional Convention. She writes for EdNC on the Leandro rulings including the recent Leandro V ruling.
Director of Government Affairs, Defending Education
Terry Stoops is the Director of Government Affairs for Defending Education. Over the last two decades, he has held leadership positions in North Carolina and Florida focused on influencing state education policy and championing parental rights through advocacy, research, and public commentary.
Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson
Matthew F. Tilley is a Partner in the Charlotte office of Womble Bond Dickinson. His practice focuses on constitutional litigation, appellate advocacy, education law, and government affairs. He has argued numerous cases before the North Carolina Supreme Court and Court of Appeals on significant constitutional and governmental issues.
Matthew led Womble’s representation of the North Carolina General Assembly in the final phase of the Leandro litigation. After a trial court ordered nearly $800 million transferred from the state treasury to implement the Comprehensive Remedial Plan without legislative action, the General Assembly intervened to defend its exclusive authority to appropriate public funds. Matthew and his team represented the Legislature through multiple appeals, culminating in the North Carolina Supreme Court's April 2026 decision rejecting the transfer order and ending the long-running Leandro litigation.
Prior to entering private practice, Matthew worked in government affairs for the Tennessee Valley Authority, where he served as a liaison to Congress and executive branch officials on matters involving budget oversight, regulatory policy, and public governance.
Matthew earned his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he served as Articles Editor of the North Carolina Law Review and was named to the Order of the Coif. He received his B.A., cum laude, from Washington and Lee University.
Chief Policy Advisor and Senior Legal Counsel, Office of Governor Kim Reynolds
Panel III: The Leandro Legacy: Education, Separation of Powers, and the North Carolina Constitution
2026 North Carolina Conference
Raleigh, NCIowa Supreme Court Deeply Divided on Whether the Iowa Constitution Contains a Right to Education
Ryan G. Koopmans
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