Iris Lawrence was born and raised in the North Heights neighborhood of Amarillo, Texas. She attended African American universities, including Howard University, and earned a master’s degree in English. While in college, Lawrence also participated in attempting to integrate Amarillo while on school breaks. Upon returning to Amarillo after living in various places like Austin, Texas, Lawrence worked for the state’s comptrollers office and served as the president of the NAACP.

Alphonso Vaughn was born and raised in Amarillo, Texas. He lived through the integration of local schools as a high school student. From Amarillo, he entered the military and then attending the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas. Upon his return to Amarillo, Vaughn helped start the city’s Juneteenth Celebration along with various civil rights and cultural organizations. He served five, two year terms as president of Amarillo’s NAACP. Since then, he has served as a Potter County Commissioner.

Claudia Stravato was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. She attended a mostly Mexican American high school in Downtown Dallas and then graduate with a BA and MA in political science from West Texas A&M University (then West Texas State University). She has been a lifelong advocate for voting rights and women’s health rights. She served as CEO of the Amarillo Planned Parenthood from 1999 to 2009. She has worked in numerous political campaigns at the state and local levels and various government agencies.