Mr. Neil Chatelain - Lone Star College–North Harris

Dr. Justene Hill Edwards - University of Virginia

Dr. Carl Moneyhon - University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Mr. Sam Collins III - Historian

Ed Cotham is active in the preservation of Civil War and Texas historic sites. He is a former President of the Houston Civil War Round Table, a volunteer Marine Steward for the Texas Historical Commission, and one of the founders of the Friends of Sabine Pass Battleground. He has published eight books on Civil War history, focusing primarily on Texas. His published works include Juneteenth: The Story Behind the Celebration, which was published by State House Press in 2021. For 28 years, Ed has led Civil War walking tours in Galveston. Many of these tours include a stop at the site of the Osterman Building, where the historic Juneteenth Order was issued.   www.edcotham.com

Neil P. Chatelain is an associate professor of history at Lone Star College–North Harris. He is also vice president and managing editor of the historical nonprofit Emerging Civil War, an organization dedicated to providing accessible information about the Civil War era to the public while also training and mentoring emerging voices in Civil War studies. Before teaching, Neil served as a surface warfare officer in the United States Navy, and in 2025, Governor Greg Abbott named him an honorary admiral in the Texas Navy.

Neil’s research focuses on the naval activity of the United States Civil War. He has written four books, thirty journal and magazine articles, and over 100 articles that have appeared online. He has been named a Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction, has won the A.M. Pate Jr. Award in Civil War History, and is a four-time winner of the Lone Star College Faculty Writing Award.  www.neilpchatelain.com

Justene Hill Edwards is an associate professor of history at the University of Virginia. She is the author of Savings and Trust: The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman’s Bank (Norton, 2024) and Unfree Markets: The Slaves’ Economy and the Rise of Capitalism in South Carolina (Columbia University Press, 2021).  A specialist in African American history, her research examines Black economic life in America.  She has won several fellowships and awards, including an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship and, most recently, the 2025 Virginia Literary Award for Nonfiction and the 2025 Frederick Douglass Book Prize.  She received her Ph.D. from Princeton University.   www.justenehilledwards.com

Carl Moneyhon, a Texas native, received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and is now Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. His most recent scholarship includes “Emancipation Day to Juneteenth: The Origins of a Texas Celebration,” which appeared in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly’s July 2024 edition. Also relevant are his books: The Union League and Biracial Politics in Reconstruction Texas (2021), George T. Ruby: Champion of Equal Rights in Reconstruction Texas (2020), Edmund J. Davis: Civil War General, Republican Leader, Reconstruction Governor (2010), and Texas After the Civil War: the Struggle of Reconstruction (2004).

Samuel Collins III is a 7th-generation Texan with roots back to 1837.  He graduated with a BBA in Accounting from Texas A&M University in 1994. He has been a lifelong resident of Galveston County. Known as “Professor Juneteenth,” he was named Galveston County’s Citizen of the Year in 2015 for his work in Galveston County and the preservation community at the local, state, and national levels.

He currently serves as an advisor with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, representing Texas. He is actively involved in the national campaign to #TellTheFullStory by expanding the narrative and telling the truth about American history.  He has spoken on programs for major universities and corporations, including Texas A&M, Prairie View A&M, Harvard, Rice, Texas, Vasser College, West Point Academy, Nike, Caterpillar, Boeing, Allstate, Wendy's, and many more. www.truthstrong.org