America 250 Panel Discussion

Professor Diane Best

Dr. Best is an Associate Professor and Program Chair of JSU’s Hospitality & Culinary Management discipline in the College of Education & Professional Studies. She is an Air Force veteran who worked as a paralegal in the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) office and, upon leaving the military, worked in large corporate law firms as a regional manager for 20 years before changing careers, returning to school for Culinary & Hospitality Management, and moving into the hospitality industry. 

She has spent more than 20 years in the hospitality industry in a number of capacities, including teaching Culinary & Hospitality Management.  She has been an executive chef, a catering company owner, a food and beverage director for a large hotel chain, as well as an Academic Curriculum Designer for the National Restaurant Association.  Dr. Best taught Hotel & Restaurant Management for seven years at Central Arizona College before coming to JSU in January of 2019.  She has degrees in Culinary Management, Hospitality Management w/Food & Beverage Specialty, Business Administration & Management, a Master of Science degree in Higher Education, and a Doctorate in Education with a specialty in Organizational Leadership. She is a member of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, the National Restaurant Association Foundation, the American Culinary Federation, and the Women’s Foodservice Forum.

She has been honored to receive a host of awards and recognition throughout her years at Jacksonville State University, including the Alabama Association of Career & Technical Education 2025 Postsecondary Professional of the Year as well as the Alabama Association of Teachers of Family & Consumer Sciences 2025 Teacher of the Year.

Her focus has always been on student-centered learning strategies to make sure that when her students leave Jacksonville State University, they are prepared for the rigors of the culinary & hospitality industry.

Dr. Best lives in Jacksonville with her husband and grandson. In her spare time, she loves to travel, cook, bake, and spend time with her family, which is the most important thing to her since her 5 children and 7 grandchildren live in various places around the country.

She has determined over the years that her career path has not been just a job but a passion and a calling, and her intention has always been to teach her students to dream big and make life better for those she serves.

Professor Steven P. Brown

Steve Brown received his PhD from the University of Virginia in 1998 and came to Auburn the same year. He teaches courses in American constitutional law, but has also taught classes on religion and politics, law and society, and American government. In 2023, he received Auburn’s highest teaching honor, the Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching.

His research interests focus primarily on American legal history and church and state issues. In 2005, his book, Trumping Religion: The New Christian Right, The Free Speech Clause and the Courts received the National Communication Association's Franklyn S. Haiman Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Freedom of Expression. In 2006, he received the National Faculty of the Year Award from the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. His article “The Girard Will and Twin Landmarks of Supreme Court History” received the Supreme Court Historical Society’s 2017 Hughes-Gossett Senior Prize, which was presented by Chief Justice John Roberts.

He created a traveling exhibit about landmark Supreme Court cases from Alabama entitled “Alabama Justice: The Cases and Faces that Changed a Nation.” It toured the state from 2019-2021 as part of the Alabama statehood bicentennial and was a finalist for the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award. At the request of the Alabama Supreme Court, the exhibit is now on permanent loan at the state judicial building in Montgomery. The companion book of the same name was published in 2020 and was awarded the Anne B. and James B. McMillan Prize in Southern History. He has received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the U.S. Department of Education, the Alabama Bicentennial Commission, and the Alabama Humanities Foundation.

He also teaches courses in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Auburn, lectures on political and First Amendment issues throughout the state, and serves as an instructor with The Election Center in providing professional education training to elections officials nationwide. His outreach efforts were recognized with Auburn University’s 2020 Award for Excellence in Faculty Outreach.

Lieutenant Colonel Eddie D. Walker, Jr.

LTC Eddie Walker is originally from Oak Harbor, WA and enlisted in the Army in 2000 serving in the 101^st Air Assault (Airborne) Division. He was commissioned through the Green to Gold, active-duty option, while attending Troy University at Troy, AL in 2007. 

LTC Walker has served in various locations and duty positions across the United States and overseas.  These assignments include Platoon Leader and Company XO, 110^th Quartermaster Company, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia;  Battalion Support Operations Officer, 260^th Quartermaster Battalion, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia; Company Commander, D Company, 4-101 AVN REGT, Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Company Commander, A Company, 4-101 AVN REGT, Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Air Assault OCT, Joint Multinational Readiness Center, Hohenfels, Germany; Joint Aviation Plans Officer, Joint Multinational Readiness Center, Hohenfels, Germany; Brigade Aviation Officer, 25^th Division Artillery, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Squadron Executive Officer, 2-6 Cavalry Squadron, Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii; Brigade Operations Officer, 25^th Combat Aviation Brigade, Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii; Exercise Officer, Security Assistance Office- Jordan at the U.S. Embassy Amman, Jordan; Deputy Chief of Operations, Security Assistance Group-Ukraine, and the Deputy Senior Aviation Trainer at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany.   

LTC Walker is currently serving as the JAX State Army ROTC Professor of Military Science. He has previously completed the Quartermaster Officer Basic Course, the Initial Entry Rotary Wing Aviator Course and Aviation Officer Basic Course, the Aviation Captains Career Course, the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, UH-60A, UH-60M Blackhawk and UH-72 Lakota aircraft qualification courses, the Air Assault School, and Security Cooperation Officer Course.  In addition to his military education LTC Walker earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Science, a Master’s of Business Administration from Boise State University and a Master’s of Military Operational Art and Science from the Air Command and Staff College.

LTC Walker is a Senior Army Aviator who has earned the Air Assault Badge and various awards and decorations, to include the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (1OLC), the Meritorious Service Medal (3OLC), the Air Medal (NUM 3), the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal (3OLC), Joint Service Achievement Medal, and the Army Achievement Medal (2OLC).  LTC Walker has deployed to Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

LTC Walker is married to the former Tiffany Tate of Jacksonville, Alabama. Together they have three children: Nayeli, 16; Calleigh, 14; and Braylon, 9.

US District Judge Keith Watkins

Judge W. Keith Watkins is the immediate past chair of The American Village Board in Montevallo, which is an educational institution whose mission is to strengthen and renew the foundations of American liberty and constitutional self-government by engaging and inspiring citizens and leaders, with a special emphasis on programs for young people. Judge Watkins was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Middle District of Alabama in 2005 and elevated to Chief District Judge in 2011, where he served until he assumed senior status in 2019. He earned his B.S. from Auburn University in 1973 graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1975. In addition to serving on the board of The American Village, Judge Watkins sits on the boards of the Rosa Parks Museum, and the Federal Judges Association. Judge Watkins also served on the board of the Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Institute.

Dr. Lori Owens - Chair, JSU American Democracy Project Committee

Dr. Lori Owens, Dean of Honors and Special Programs is also a Professor of Political Science at Jacksonville State University.  She earned her BA in political science from JSU, and her MA and PhD in political science from The University of Alabama.  Dr. Owens chairs the JSU American Democracy Project Committee, the Study Abroad Subcommittee, and serves as the campus advisor for the Pre-Law Program and faculty advisor for the Model UN and Model Arab League Debate Teams.       

Dr. Owens served as chair of the Alabama Higher Education Partnership from 2007-2012 and continues to serve as a board member. She is also an emeriti member and past chair of the Alabama Women’s Commission and was a founding member of the Cherokee County Family Resource Center.     

Dr. Owens’ dissertation profiled the nomination and confirmation process of federal judges and included a detailed analysis of how the Robert Bork hearings impacted the judicial nomination and confirmation process.  Dr. Owens’ teaching interest include American Government, Southern Politics, Middle East, and Foreign Policy.  Her current research interest is the life and career of US Senator James Allen of Gadsden, Alabama.

Mr. Thomas Rains, Executive Director, The Judge Frank Johnson Institute

Thomas Rains is Executive Director of The Judge Johnson Institute and was its first employee, joining in the summer of 2019. Previously, Thomas advocated for education policies to increase college and career readiness across Alabama. He has worked as a middle school teacher in the Mississippi Delta, a journalist covering finance in New York, and as a researcher of politics and policy in Washington, DC. He is a member of the advisory board for Teach For America-Alabama (previously Vice Chair). Thomas is a graduate of Leadership Alabama (Class XXXIV) and Leadership Montgomery. He holds a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University and dual bachelor’s degrees in history and journalism from Boston University. An Atlanta native, Thomas was raised in Birmingham and Lanett, Alabama. He and his family have called Montgomery home since 2011.