Amanda Tyler
Executive Director, BJC
Amanda Tyler leads BJC as it upholds the historic Baptist principle of religious liberty, defending the free exercise of religion and protecting against its establishment by government. Tyler often speaks in churches, educational institutions and denominational gatherings, and she provides commentary on church-state issues to the media. A member of the Texas and U.S. Supreme Court Bar, Tyler has experience working in Congress, in a private legal practice and serving as a law clerk for a federal judge. A native of Austin, Texas, Tyler grew up hearing about the cherished Baptist principles of religious liberty and the separation of church and state. Tyler graduated from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown with a bachelor’s degree in foreign service, magna cum laude, and a J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law. Following law school, Tyler worked in private practice and served as a law clerk for a U.S. district court judge in Dallas, Texas. She later joined the staff of U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett in Austin and Washington, D.C. A member of First Baptist Church of Washington, D.C., she lives in the city with her husband, Robert Behrendt, and their son, Phelps.
