Parents Rights Forum - Madison at the Mill

Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin appointed Dutta to the Virginia Board of Education in July. Virginia senators nixed Suparna Dutta's nomination to the education board one week after she sparred with another member over the Constitution and socialism.

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Brief Bios of the Panelists

Suparna Dutta is an American STEM professional, parents’ rights activist and co-founder with Asra Nomani of the Coalition for TJ. Suparna has consistently campaigned against race-based admissions policies and discriminatory practices in the Fairfax County Public Schools and in favor of meritocracy. She helped spearhead ongoing litigation against FCPS and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, challenging its race-based exclusions of Asians from TJ admissions. She was born in India, a socialist country. Following her defense of the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and American values at a Virginia Board of Education meeting, she became the subject of a concerted smear campaign that falsely accused her of racism. Her nomination by Governor Youngkin to the Virginia Board of Education was thereafter revoked by a majority vote of the Virginia Senate (all Democrats voting for revocation and all Republicans voting against revocation).

Asra Nomani is an American author and former Georgetown University professor. She helped co-found the Coalition for TJ with Suparna Dutta. She was born in India to Muslim parents. She earned her BA from West Virginia University in liberal arts in 1986 and her MA from American University in international communications in 1990. A former Wall Street Journal correspondent, she is the author of numerous articles and three books, including her most recent, Woke Army: The Red-Green Alliance that Is Destroying America’s Freedom (2023).

Matt Strickland is a combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Inspired by his grandfather, who served as an infantryman with the 3rd Army under General George S. Patton in World War II, Matt enlisted in the Army at the age of 17 in 2001. Following his military service and work as a private military contractor, Matt opened Gourmeltz Restaurant in Fredericksburg, Virginia, becoming famous for his refusal to abide by former Governor Ralph Northam’s COVID-19 executive order to restrict restaurant operations and his ultimate victory over those restrictions and the ABC Board. Matt is a candidate for the Virginia State Senate.

Jonathan Emord is a veteran constitutional lawyer who has defeated the federal government eight times in federal court. He is AV-rated by the Martindale-Hubbell law rating organization (highest in legal ability and ethics). He is the author of five critically acclaimed books, including his most recent, The Authoritarians: Their Assault on Individual Liberty, the Constitution, and Free Enterprise from the 19th Century to the Present (2021). Jonathan is a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Virginia.