Lori Gimelshteyn’s life was going along pretty smoothly. A wife and mother of two children, she also had a successful career as a speech language pathologist. In addition to her private practice she ran a ministry called the Let’s Talk Initiative, for children and adults with complex communication needs.
But then she and her husband, Max, began noticing something was very wrong with their children’s schools. Even though Cherry Creek School District was one of the top districts in Colorado, children were learning false and harmful ideologies in direct opposition to their family’s beliefs.
Their children were being lied to.
The first sign something was wrong, she told the Daily Citizen in an interview, was when their eleven-year-old daughter came home from school and said that a girl friend “was now going to be a boy and have a boy name and use he/his/him pronouns … and use the boy’s room.”
Lori thought they must have missed an email from the school. Had she overlooked an announcement about a workshop for parents, informing them that a girl would now be using the boy’s restroom?
But there was no email. And no workshop.
Lori’s daughter explained to her, “Oh no, mommy, She goes home every day as a girl. His [sic] parents have no idea.”
The Gimelshteyn’s second wake-up call came when their eighth-grade son came home with a language arts assignment. He was asked to write an essay answering the question: “Why is your favorite hobby racist?”
Lori said, “After looking at the rubric and seeing he was being compelled to make the statement that skiing, his favorite hobby, was racist, against people of color.”
She told her son, “You will get an F on this paper before you lie. We don’t lie in this family.”
Shockingly, he responded, “You don’t understand, mom. I have to think one way at home and another way at school.”
The Gimelshteyn’s had just encountered two of our education system’s reigning ideologies: transgenderism and critical race theory.
Lori discovered that children were being taught that “they were born in the wrong body,” and they could somehow be transformed into the opposite sex – an obvious lie.
Critical race theory, as Lori explained, teaches children “they’re part of a systemically racist country that is basically bad” and “they are either in a group of what would be called oppressors or oppressed.”
She added, “And the districts are requiring the teachers to take professional coursework in this.”
These events sent Lori on a journey – talking with other parents, reaching out to teachers and speaking with the school principal.
Lori said, “When I uncovered what was happening, I thought, well, my goodness, all I have to do is tell people that this is happening and everybody will be outraged. And this will end.”
But when she questioned the Cherry Creek Board of Education about teachers being trained in critical race theory, she was vilified by local media – and even some parents. This created a chilling environment where other parents were afraid to speak out.
The very next day, I was in the papers as a crazed parent, a conspiracy theorist. I heard words like militia leader, anti-LGBTQ mom, and really just harmful, hurtful words.
And what that did was it set the precedent for every parent around me that had concerns. They did not want that to happen to them. They were afraid that they were going to be fired. They didn’t want to take a stand because the risk was so great.
The abuse from the press and the shunning by other parents, painful as it was, had the positive effect of deepening the Gimelshteyn’s faith. Lori told us the family had been, up until that point, “kind of Sunday Christians, if you will.”
But what they were facing led them to pray, seek God’s guidance, read the Word and grow in their relationship with God.
Max and Lori sat down together to decide what to do next.
The bottom line – they couldn’t fear men. She said, “We had to move beyond that because we have to protect these children.”
After a lot of prayer, talking with others, and discerning where God was guiding them, Lori stopped her speech pathology work and became a full-time advocate for children, parents and families.
She founded Colorado Parent Advocacy Network, with the goal of “building a statewide network of parents, educators, and citizens united in purpose to restore accountability, uphold parental rights, and protect children from harmful ideological and institutional overreach.”
Colorado Parent Advocacy Network’s work includes:
- Advocacy support for families in education, healthcare, and government systems.
- Informational classes and resources for parents, educators and community members.
- Mentorship for launching local advocacy groups.
- Statewide policy engagement and legislative action on issues impacting children and families.
That policy engagement includes Lori’s work with Protect Kids Colorado, where she is a board member. The organizations are sponsoring three measures they hope to place on the ballot in 2026.
- “Protecting Our Children From Child Sex Trafficking” sets a penalty of life in prison without parole for anyone who buys or sells a minor child for sex in Colorado.
- “Protecting Our Girl’s Sports from Biological Males” ensures girls sports are protected, requiring sports leagues and teams be specifically designated male, female, or co-ed.
- “Protecting Our Children From Irreversible Sex Change Surgery” prohibits irreversible sex change surgeries on minor children, age 17 and younger.
Lori is very hopeful about placing these measures before Colorado voters.
She’s optimistic about the future, even for states like Colorado, deeply mired in radical leftist ideology and politics. Concerned voters are rallying around the three ballot initiatives to protect children, she said, adding, “And that tells you that in a state like Colorado, where a lot of people feel like it’s a lost cause, that the people – we the people – are shifting this culture.”
Lori’s also encourages other parents to do something to advocate for children, parental rights and a return to academic excellence. Concerned citizens don’t need to start new organizations or give public speeches – most states have parental rights advocacy groups to connect with, donate to and volunteer for.
Parents can take steps to protect their own children by opting them out of objectionable lessons, surveys or assignments, she said. If enough parents do this, teachers will have to alter their curriculums to accommodate them.
Not everyone will become a full-time activist, but everyone can do something to protect children and stop harmful education practices.
Related Articles and Resources
YouTube Interview: Mom Takes a Stand: Protecting Children from Ideology in Schools
California Family Harassed After Trying to Opt-Out of Activities Teaching Gender Ideology
Colorado Parent Advocacy Network – Resources for Parents
‘Equipping Parents For Back-To-School’ – Updated Resource Empowers Parents
Equipping Parents for Back-to-School
Is ‘Critical Race Theory’ Being Taught in Public Schools? CRT Deniers Claim it Isn’t
National Day of Reading Celebrates ‘Stories Supporting Transgender and Non-Binary Youth’
NEA President Wants to Transform Education Into ‘Something It Was Never Designed to Be’