Amanda Tyler

Amanda Tyler is an American lawyer and executive. She is the executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) in Washington, D.C., a nonprofit whose focus is defending religious freedom for all people.[1] In addition, she serves as the co-host of the BJC’s “Respecting Religion” Podcast series, alongside BJC General Counsel Holly Hollman.[2] Tyler is the sixth executive director of the organization since its founding in 1936 and the first woman to hold the post.

Under her leadership, BJC has taken a strong role in opposing the Muslim travel ban,[3] standing against Christian nationalism,[4] and supporting the protections of the Johnson Amendment.[5]

Amanda Tyler testifies before Congress

Early life and education

Tyler grew up in Austin, Texas. She graduated magna cum laude from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in foreign service. She earned her J.D. with honors in 2004 from the University of Texas School of Law.[6]

Career

While in college, Tyler worked as an intern at BJC and then joined the staff as the assistant to the general counsel. During that time, she assisted with the coordination of a coalition in support of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), which was signed into law in 2000 by President Bill Clinton.[7]

Following her graduation, Tyler worked as an associate at Baron & Budd in Dallas, and then Lynn Tillotson Pinker & Cox (now Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst). She completed a one-year clerkship for The Honorable Barbara M.G. Lynn of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

In 2009, Tyler joined the staff of U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett in Austin as district director and moved to Washington, D.C. in 2012 to serve as his counsel for the Ways and Means Committee. She held this position until January 2017 when she took up the position of executive director of BJC.

Congressional and Media Appearances

On October 2, 2018, Tyler testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the current challenges to religious freedom.[8]

Tyler submitted written testimony to Congress on May 4, 2017, objecting to a proposed repeal of the Johnson Amendment - the law that protects houses of worship and other religious nonprofit organizations from the political pressures that come with endorsing and opposing candidates.[9]

Her op-eds have been published in The Washington Post, The Hill, and Religious News Service.

Awards and Recognition

Tyler was named one of the top 50 nonprofit leaders in the country in 2018 by The NonProfit Times.[10]

BJC received the Judge George Alexander Teitz Award from the Touro Synagogue in 2018 for best exemplifying the commitment to the ideals of religious and ethnic tolerance and freedom, expressed in President George Washington's 1790 Letter “to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island.”[11]

In 2019, Tyler was named the young alumna of the year by the University of Texas School of Law.[12]

EthicsDaily.com named Amanda Tyler "Baptist of the Year" in 2019 for her leadership of the Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign.[13]

Personal life

Tyler is married to Robert Behrendt, an attorney. They have one son.[14] Tyler is a member of The First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C.

References
  1. "About BJC". BJConline.com. BJC. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  2. "Respecting Religion: A BJC Podcast series". BJC. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  3. Tyler, Amanda. "TRUMP IS DISMANTLING TRUE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM". Sojo.net. Sojourners. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  4. Rosenberg, Paul. "A grassroots Christians movement joins the fight against Christian Nationalism". Salon.com. Salon. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  5. Landler, Mark; Goodstein, Laurie (2 February 2017). "Trump Vows to 'Destroy' Law Banning Political Endorsements by Churches". New York Times. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  6. Crowe, Cherilyn. "Texan Amanda Tyler named BJC executive director-elect". Baptiststandard.com. Baptist Standard. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  7. Brown, Matthew. "Leadership changes at Baptist Joint Committee, but commitment to protect religious liberty remains". deseret.com. Deseret News. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  8. "Testimony of Amanda Tyler, on behalf of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty" (PDF). Committee on the Judiciary. U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  9. Tyler, Amanda. "Statement by Amanda Tyler" (PDF). BJConline.org. BJC. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  10. "The Top 50 of 2018" (PDF). The NonProfitTimes. Nonprofit Times Publishing Group Inc. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  11. "The Judge George Alexander Teitz Award". Touro Synagogue Foundation. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  12. "2019 Alumni Awards: Outstanding Young Alumna, Amanda Tyler '04". University of Texas Law. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  13. Randall, Mitch (27 December 2019). "Baptists of the Year 2019: Amanda Tyler and Jorge Zapata". EthicsDaily.com. EthicsDaily.com. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  14. Jameson, Norman. "A year after assuming leadership, Amanda Tyler reflects on religious liberty group that 'punches above its weight'". BaptistNews.com. Baptist News Global. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
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