Celebrating the 2025 Richard D. McLellan Prizes

On November 19, 2025, the Russell Kirk Center gathered at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. with a full crowd for the second  annual Richard D. McLellan Free Speech Prizes gala honoring 2025 grand prize winner Kristen Waggoner.

The gathering also featured recipients of the research and writing Fellowship awards to Mickey Shapiro Free Speech Fellows Luke Sheahan, Jennifer Bryson, and Samuel Goldman, and Dick & Ethie Haworth Free Speech Fellows Josiah Joner, Peter Bonilla, and Thomas Matthew Vozar.

For those unable to join us for this memorable evening celebration, we’re pleased to share a complete recording of the event program below. To help navigate the video, here are some useful timestamps:

  • 1:50 – invocation from Kayla Bartsch
  • 5:30 – Rep. John Moolenaar leads the Pledge of Allegiance
  • 6:00 – introduction from Kirk Center CEO Jeff Nelson
  • 17:08 – remarks from Gov. John Engler
  • 30:00 – introductions of the Mickey Shapiro and Dick & Ethie Haworth Free Speech Fellows
  • 37:25 – Jennifer Bryson’s remarks on her fellowship project
  • 42:50 – Peter Bonilla’s remarks on his fellowship project
  • 52:30 – Hon. Judge James C. Ho introduces Kristen Waggoner
  • 59:30 – Grand prize winner Kristen Waggoner’s remarks
  • 120:15 – Prospects for Free Speech – a roundtable discussion with Kristen Waggoner, Greg Lukianoff, Allyson Ho, and Jim Stoner

The Richard D. McLellan Prizes is a unique educational program administered by the Russell Kirk Center. Its aim is to help reshape the national conversation on issues surrounding the durability and prospects for the American tradition of free speech and expression as guaranteed in the U. S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

The McLellan Prizes draw attention to the central importance of the free speech tradition, particularly recognizing those doing the most important and exciting work in that area. These Prizes seek to support talented thinkers, creators, and communicators capable of rearticulating the perennial importance of the First Amendment, and transmitting a better understanding of the freedoms it secures for all.

Find more information on the McLellan Prizes here.