Family is the lifeblood of our society: Interview with Alisa Ellis, wife, mother and education activist
As WFWP USA is expanding its network of women leaders, we would also like to highlight some of these remarkable ladies in our newsletter. In this issue, we interviewed Alisa Ellis, former member of the State Board of Education in Utah, who was one of the panel speakers at Global Women’s Peace Network (GWPN) conference in Las Vegas this past June. A recipient of the 2019 National Parents of the Year award, Alisa also shares about her personal experiences as a parent.
To start things off, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am a wife and a mother of seven kids. My husband and I raised our kids in a small town in Utah and we recently moved to Arizona (in July). We have a cute little grandbaby. My husband was raised in Arizona and I grew up in Texas, and we met in college.
How did you become active in the field of education?
In 2012, I started listening to education policy and became a citizen activist. I traveled around and saw the dangers in education reform. I founded a group called Gathering Families because we see an attack by outside forces to replace the family with artificial institutions, when really the lifeblood of our society is the family unit. We empower people to be engaged in the community and let their voices be heard. Parents need to be in control and in a lot of regards have abdicated their control to outside sources. They should not have other people tell them how to raise their kids. That led me to run for the state board of education in Utah. During my time on the board (from 2017 to 2019), I chaired several committees. I really enjoyed that experience.
What are your plans now that you have moved to Arizona?
I had to resign from the State Board of Education in Utah and now I have been settling in. I do plan to stay active and fulfill my mission that God wants me to do. I'd like to branch out from just education to help strengthen the family and raise a voice about the moral decline.
How did you first get in touch with WFWP?
I met Laura Hornbeck in 2015 when the World Congress of Families conference happened in Utah. She mentioned about her faith and what she believed in, and we stayed in touch. The first I heard of the organization was when she asked me to speak at the Global Women’s Peace Network [launching event in Las Vegas]. I just barely started my relationship with the organization and look forward to working together more.
What attracted you to WFWP?
The common values and goals. I love the goal of being feminine not feminist. I didn't feel that I was limited but I knew that I wanted to be a wife and a mother. I chose that path and I haven't really worked outside the home except for volunteering initiatives. I would like this next generation to know that if they would like to work that's fine, but we shouldn't look down upon the role of mothers. I try to teach my daughters - the first thing they are asked is what they want to be when they grow up. I don't want to take away their right to follow another path.
Yes, absolutely. And I feel that fathers are just as important.
We can't tear men down in the process of becoming who we are. In a lot of ways, we can't do it without each other and recognize that without each other, we aren't whole.
Could you share a few words about your experience at the GWPN southwest launch in Las Vegas?
It was a great honor. Walking into the ballroom the evening before, I was just touched by the diversity in the room. I lived in a very small town for almost the last 20 years, and it was very touching for me to walk in and see people dressed in the clothes that represent their culture. There's so much we have in common and we can use that commonality. There's a power of strength that can't be replicated. To see women take time out of their lives for a conference like that because they recognize that power [is incredible]. We recognize the values we have.
Are there any projects you would be interested to collaborate on in the future?
Right now, I just finished working on my projects and haven't started on any new ones yet, so I wouldn't be able to tell you.
Congratulations on being selected as national parents of the year together with your husband. Any parenting tips you'd like to share with us?
My biggest parenting tip is do not look at what everyone else is doing and compare yourself, because you have the power to come together as a couple and consult with our Father in heaven. You are the expert on your children. When we look down upon ourselves because we aren't doing it like someone else, we're missing something. We can learn from the struggles of others, but the biggest thing is to put God at the center of our relationships.
We have to recognize the power that is within us. We also need to recognize that each of us is a child of God. We need to prayerfully consider the best path forward. Each of our children are different and the personalities struggle, but as we recognize the very strong character traits were given to them by God for a divine purpose, it helps give us a little patience on the journey. Really, these children were given strong traits to survive in our society and navigate through these trying times that we're going through. We need to help them find their own design and mission, instead of trying to define it for them.
Our children are the first to say we aren't perfect but we just do our best.
Any final words?
We are in no way perfect parents. We have our struggles like everyone else. We are just trying to live the precepts of our faith and looking out for others along the way. We try to teach our children to look outside to help others as well. There are things they're doing on their own because they're trying. We are honored and humbled [as their parents].
