{"id":44485,"date":"2025-10-01T09:30:38","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T14:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/?p=44485"},"modified":"2025-10-02T11:01:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T16:01:57","slug":"kristen-waggoner-awarded-2025-richard-d-mclellan-prize-for-advancing-free-speech-and-expression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/highlights\/kristen-waggoner-awarded-2025-richard-d-mclellan-prize-for-advancing-free-speech-and-expression\/","title":{"rendered":"Kristen Waggoner Awarded 2025 Richard D. McLellan Prize for Advancing Free Speech and Expression"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal today announced that Kristen Waggoner, CEO, President, and Chief Counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), has been named the recipient of the second annual Richard D. McLellan Prize of $50,000 for Advancing Free Speech and Expression.<\/span><\/h5>\n


A distinguished blue-ribbon jury selected Waggoner for her visionary and effective leadership in defending the First Amendment freedoms of all Americans.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Landmark Leadership in Free Speech<\/b><\/p>\n

For more than a decade, Waggoner has created and implemented innovative strategies that secure the Golden Rule of Free Speech: Treat speech you oppose with the same protections as the speech you support.<\/span><\/p>\n

Under her leadership, ADF achieved one of the most significant free speech victories in a generation: the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s decision in <\/span>303 Creative LLC v. Elenis <\/span><\/i>(2023), which Waggoner briefed and argued. This ruling protects Americans from being compelled by government officials to express messages contrary to their beliefs. Beyond winning <\/span>303 Creative<\/span><\/i>, Waggoner has led ADF\u2019s litigation in five other recent Supreme Court wins for free speech\u2014including arguing<\/span> Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski<\/span><\/i>\u2014and in 400 victories protecting the speech of college students from all walks of life. Under Waggoner\u2019s leadership, ADF also helped 22 states pass laws protecting students from unconstitutional speech codes and similar policies. Internationally, ADF is engaged in hundreds of precedent-setting legal cases across six continents, defending fundamental freedoms and the right of every person to speak freely across the globe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Beyond government threats, Waggoner has also recognized the growing challenge of private censorship in digital and financial platforms. Under her guidance, ADF launched a new Center for Free Speech in 2023 to respond to this evolving frontier, with early successes such as Tennessee\u2019s adoption of ADF\u2019s model bill to protect consumers from politically motivated account closures.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Model of Civility<\/b><\/p>\n

Even amid high-profile litigation, Waggoner has modeled respect, integrity, and openness\u2014qualities that strengthen public trust in free expression. She routinely engages across ideological divides, exemplifying the best traditions of civil debate envisioned by the First Amendment.<\/span><\/p>\n

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There has never been a more critical time in history to protect the bedrock principle of free speech. Such a pursuit takes a vast alliance of liberty-loving, truth-telling, unwavering advocates, and the Russell Kirk Center is among the very finest at preserving constitutional freedoms. It\u2019s a tremendous honor to receive the Richard D. McLellan Prize from this esteemed organization\u2014I am humbled and grateful for this recognition. – Kristen Waggoner<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

From Our Leadership<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe jury was unanimous in our admiration for Kristen Waggoner\u2019s indispensable work,\u201d said <\/span>Governor John Engler<\/b>, McLellan Prize Jury Chairman and Kirk Center Vice-Chair. \u201cShe has ensured that the star of free speech remains fixed in our constitutional constellation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Jeff Nelson<\/b>, Executive Director & CEO of the Russell Kirk Center, added: \u201cKristen Waggoner\u2019s courage and vision have strengthened the foundations of American liberty. In her defense of free expression, she also champions what Russell Kirk called the \u2018Permanent Things\u2019\u2014those enduring moral and cultural truths without which freedom itself cannot survive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span>About the McLellan Prize<\/b><\/p>\n

The Richard D. McLellan Prize for Advancing Free Speech and Expression honors the life and legacy of Michigan attorney and public servant Richard D. McLellan, whose career exemplified commitment to the First Amendment. Awarded annually, the $50,000 prize recognizes those whose work ensures that freedom of speech\u2014America\u2019s first freedom\u2014is appreciated and protected for future generations.<\/span><\/p>\n

By honoring Kristen Waggoner, the Russell Kirk Center affirms its mission to advance cultural renewal by preserving the principles of ordered liberty, moral imagination, and enduring constitutional freedoms.<\/span><\/p>\n

Waggoner and other prize winners will be honored at the 2025 McLellan Prizes Award Gala in Washington, DC on November 19, 2025, and\u00a0 tickets for the event can be reserved here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Our 2025 McLellan Prizes grand prize recipient is Kristen Waggoner, President and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":37902,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[351],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/315-1-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44485"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44485"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44502,"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44485\/revisions\/44502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}