CRE STAFF

Nate Kellum is the Founder and Chief Counsel of the Center for Religious Expression. Previously, Nate served as Senior Counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund (now known as Alliance Defending Freedom), and before that, he was Litigation Counsel for the American Family Association.
Nate has defended religious liberty in courtrooms in virtually every state in the country for over three decades, appearing before numerous federal appellate courts, and winning many landmark decisions. He is also a constitutional scholar, authoring two published law review articles.
A sought-after speaker, Nate has appeared on numerous national television and radio shows, including Hannity, Heartland, Big Story, Fox and Friends, Michael Medvev show, and the Hugh Hewitt show. He has been frequently quoted in major print media, like Time magazine, National Review, Washington Post, New York Times, and USA Today. Nate has also written many op-eds and articles for various media outlets, including Townhall, American Thinker, One News Now, and the Christian Post.
Nate earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Mississippi, graduating with honors in 1988. He is admitted to the bar in Tennessee and Mississippi, and he resides in Memphis, Tennessee, with his wife, Lori, and their five children, Sarah Frances, Abbay, Wesley, Holland, and Anne Harper.

Bill Kay was raised in the Washington, DC area, first in Virginia and then in Maryland.  After graduating from the University of Maryland College Park with a degree in Business Finance, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps where he served for four years.  After being honorably discharged from the Marine Corps, Bill sold computers and related equipment in Washington, DC for a short period.

In 1992, Bill was hired by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a Special Agent and, upon graduation from the FBI Academy, was sent to the Memphis Field Office.  He was able to stay in Memphis for his entire FBI career.  Bill specialized in violent crimes investigations, firearms and other types of training, and tactical operations.  He retired from the FBI in March of 2019.

After two years of retired life, Bill joined CRE as the Executive Director in February of 2021 and is excited about the new challenges this career change brings.

Bill and his wife, Brigid, are members of Independent Presbyterian Church in Memphis and have been long time supporters of CRE.  They have three children, Jim, Jonathan, and Laurel.

Chrisann Rumschik serves as Staff Counsel for the Center for Religious Expression. Chrisann fell in love with the law at a young age, viewing it as an effective tool to help the greater good of society. Yet, she was drawn to defending the very first freedom—the freedom to live out our faith, after becoming a born-again Christian herself.

Previously, Chrisann served as a First-Year Litigation Fellow with Alliance Defending Freedom. She has also defended religious liberty with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, First Liberty Institute, and Liberty Counsel.

Chrisann was born in Kingston, Jamaica. She immigrated to the United States to pursue her legal education and earned her Juris Doctorate from the Georgetown University Law Center. Her international background made her mindful of the fact that freedom is, indeed, not free. While she has dedicated her career to defending religious liberty, her husband, Michael, serves as a chaplain in the U.S. Army. They are both grateful to serve God and country using the skills and talents God has placed within them. They reside in Oahu, Hawaii, with their two children.

Debbie was born and raised in the Memphis area and graduated from Briarcrest Christian School and The University of Memphis, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Early Education.  Debbie married her college sweetheart, Kevin, in 1997.  They met in the percussion section of the University of Memphis marching band.  Debbie and her family are faithful members of East Side Baptist Church and are very involved in the children’s, teen’s, musical and financial ministries of the church. 

Debbie began her career in the Memphis City School system and worked there until the birth of her son in 2000.  She later went back to teaching in her son’s preschool until she was offered a position working from home as Payroll and Human Resource Manager for Best Loading Services, Inc.  During this time period, Kevin and Debbie had their second child, Rachel.  After about 15 years of working with Best Loading Services, Inc., the company was sold and instead of relocating, Debbie went back to her teaching degree and worked as a Pre-school director and first grade teacher at two local private Christian schools.  Debbie has also had data entry and customer service experience working with Front Door and the City of Bartlett Water Department.  In the fall of 2021, a donor and client of Center for Religious Expression told Debbie of the job opening and suggested she apply.  After some research into the law firm, Debbie was excited to apply and to possibly be able to contribute to Center for Religious Expression.  Debbie was hired in November 2021.

Ashley Broom grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and then moved to Oxford, Mississippi where she attended the University of Mississippi.  While at Ole Miss, Ashley majored in Secondary Education: English and was actively involved in a campus ministry called Reformed University Fellowship (RUF).  During her senior year, Ashley applied to be an RUF intern, was accepted, and was placed as an RUF intern at Belhaven University where she would later serve following her graduation and after she raised support.

Ashley graduated cum laude from Ole Miss with a degree in Secondary Education: English in May of 2017.  After graduating, Ashley began to raise her support, so that she could move to Jackson, Mississippi and begin her work in college ministry at Belhaven University.  In August of 2017, she moved to Jackson and worked as RUF intern for three years.  During her time with RUF, Ashley developed a passion for fundraising and knew that she no longer wanted to pursue teaching as a career.  Ashley felt God’s calling to serve those in need by using the fundraising skills that He had given to her.  Once she had completed her internship with RUF, Ashley moved back home during the Coronavirus Pandemic and began to look for jobs in the field of fundraising.

Through a friend from church, Ashley learned about the Center for Religious Expression and immediately applied for a position at CRE.  In November of 2020,  Ashley was hired to work for CRE on their development team.  During the pandemic, she was discouraged and frustrated by the continual governmental overreach that prevented churches from meeting.  Knowing that CRE exists in order to protect the religious liberty of individuals and organizations is a comfort to Ashley and she is thrilled to be fundraising for a ministry that she believes is vital.