Deputy Counsel, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
Luke joined WILL from the Wisconsin Department of Justice where he served for nearly four years as a Deputy Solicitor General and Assistant Attorney General.
Berg has argued nine cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court and four before the Seventh Circuit, including one en banc argument. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison (B.S.) and New York University (J.D.) and served as a law clerk for Judge Diane Sykes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Prior to joining the Wisconsin DOJ in 2015, Berg worked as an attorney for the Office of the Comptroller of Currency in Washington D.C.
Berg resides in Madison with his wife and three boys.
President, General Counsel, and Founder, Child and Parental Rights Campaign, Inc
Vernadette Broyles is the President, General Counsel, and founder of Child and Parental Rights Campaign, Inc. She is an experienced family law litigator and Guardian Ad Litem representing the best interests of children in court, and has been an advocate for student privacy, parental rights, and Title IX protections in public schools. She brings to this role her knowledge and experience in the legislative process and background in science and research. Vernadette graduated with Honors from Yale University with a bachelor of science degree in Biology, and received her law degree from Harvard Law School.
Vernadette has practiced as a commercial litigator and served as a state Prosecutor with the Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney’s Office. Prior to law school, she worked in neuro-pharmaceutical research. Vernadette was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue to the State Board of the Georgia Department of Human Services for five years, where she co-chaired the Department of Family and Children Services Committee and gained many insights into state child protective services. She has served on Advisory Boards to the U.S. Department of Justice Violence Against Women program and the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention program and as a Public Interest Director with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta. Vernadette has also been featured as a columnist with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She and her husband have two children.
Senior Counsel, Home School Legal Defense Association
William Estrada serves as Senior Counsel for Home School Legal Defense Association. Mr. Estrada served as a legal assistant with HSLDA starting in 2004 while attending Oak Brook School of Law. After he passed the California bar, Mr. Estrada rose to be HSLDA’s director of federal relations. He left in 2018 to work at the US Department of Health and Human Services, where he became a career employee in the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division within the Office for Civil Rights. He is a member of the California Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, and the US Supreme Court bar.
Mr. Estrada previously served the Parental Rights Foundation as their first full-time president from November 2021 to May 2023.
Mr. Estrada and his wife, Rachel, live in Northern Virginia with their two sons, Dominic and Merrick. Mr. Estrada is a man of faith and family. He is a self-proclaimed outdoorsman, foodie, gardener, and a beekeeper.
Partner, Shutts & Bowen LLP
Ben Gibson is an attorney in the Tallahassee office of Shutts & Bowen LLP, where he is Vice-Chair of the Appellate practice group. His statewide practice focuses on government, political, and corporate clients representing them in government affairs, appellate, litigation, and administrative matters.
Most recently, Ben was named general counsel to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ Transition Team, advising the new administration on legal issues and the appointment of three Florida Supreme Court justices. Before joining Shutts, Ben served as the Deputy General Counsel and an Assistant General Counsel to Florida Governor Rick Scott for nearly five years, where he helped advise the Governor on the appointment of more than 120 judges to Florida’s county, circuit, DCA, and Supreme Courts. His extensive responsibilities included providing legal counsel to the Executive Office of the Governor and overseeing high profile legal issues at executive branch agencies.
Gibson’s government law practice includes serving as counsel to state entities, advising on public records, the Sunshine Law, and ethics issues as well as representing clients before state and federal courts and administrative agencies.
His state and federal election law practice focuses on advising candidates, party organizations, and political committees and representing clients in compliance and enforcement matters. As general counsel to the Republican Party of Florida he led all of the party’s legal efforts during the 2018 election cycle including through three statewide recounts.
With a deep understanding of Florida government and politics, Ben has also worked as an attorney with the Florida House of Representatives helping to author the largest rewrite of Florida’s growth management laws in 25 years. Prior to joining Shutts, Ben founded his own law firm focusing on government and election law.
Associate, Consovoy McCarthy PLLC
Mr. Vaseliou assists clients with a variety of litigation and appellate matters that encompass constitutional law, administrative law, and election law.
Before joining the firm, Mr. Vaseliou was a law clerk to Judge Andrew S. Oldham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and to Judge Richard G. Taranto of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Mr. Vaseliou earned his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was selected for the Order of the Coif. Mr. Vaseliou earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering summa cum laude from the University of Florida. Mr. Vaseliou is a member of the Texas bar.*
*Supervised by principals of the firm who are members of the Virginia bar.
Deputy Counsel, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
Luke joined WILL from the Wisconsin Department of Justice where he served for nearly four years as a Deputy Solicitor General and Assistant Attorney General.
Berg has argued nine cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court and four before the Seventh Circuit, including one en banc argument. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison (B.S.) and New York University (J.D.) and served as a law clerk for Judge Diane Sykes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Prior to joining the Wisconsin DOJ in 2015, Berg worked as an attorney for the Office of the Comptroller of Currency in Washington D.C.
Berg resides in Madison with his wife and three boys.
Vice President and Director of Litigation, EdChoice
Thomas M. Fisher served as a Deputy Attorney General for 22 years and as Indiana’s first Solicitor General from 2005-2023. In that role he handled high profile litigation for the State, defended state statutes against constitutional attack, advised the Attorney General on a range of legal policy issues, and managed the State’s U.S. Supreme Court docket. A two-time recipient of the National Association of Attorneys General Best Brief Award, Fisher has argued five times before the High Court.
His U.S. Supreme Court experience also includes authorship of dozens of cert-stage and merits-stage amicus curiae briefs on a wide range of issues. In addition, Fisher has argued dozens of important and high-profile cases before both the Indiana Supreme Court and the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Fisher is a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and was recently named a Sagamore of the Wabash by Governor Eric Holcomb.
A native Hoosier, Fisher is a graduate of Wabash College and Indiana University Maurer School of Law, where he serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law.
Senior Counsel, Vice President of Advocacy Strategy, Alliance Defending Freedom
Emilie Kao serves as senior counsel and vice president of advocacy strategy for Alliance Defending Freedom, where she is a member of the U.S. Legal Team. In this role, she supports ADF’s legal and legislative objectives through culture shaping initiatives.
Before joining ADF, Kao served as director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at the Heritage Foundation. She led a team of experts who provided strategy, research, and policy recommendations on life, marriage, and religious freedom consistent with Constitutional principles. She convened coalitions of strategic partners to support the protection of religious freedom and launched the Promise to America’s Children, a movement dedicated to the protection of children and parental rights.
Kao also served as senior legal counsel at an international human rights law firm, East Asia team leader in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of International Human Rights, and director of international advocacy at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. She was an adjunct professor at Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University and is co-editor of the “First Principles on International Human Rights” essay series.
She has testified before the U.S. Congress and spoken at the United Nations in Geneva and New York. She has been interviewed and quoted extensively in the media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, C-SPAN, and 60 Minutes+.
Kao earned her A.B. cum laude from Harvard University and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. She is a member of the state bars of California and the District of Columbia and is admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court. She speaks Mandarin Chinese.
United States District Judge, Southern District of Ohio
Judge Matthew W. McFarland was born in Portsmouth, Scioto County, Ohio, and raised in Wheelersburg. He graduated from Wheelersburg High School in 1985, from Capital University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, and from the Capital University Law School in 1992, where he was inducted in the Order of the Barristers. He also served as a research assistant for Dean Rodney K. Smith. Judge McFarland first took the bench in 1999 as a Magistrate in the Scioto County Common Pleas Court. He was first elected to the Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals in 2004 serving fourteen southeast Ohio counties. In 2010 and 2016 he was re-elected, and in 2016 by winning all fourteen counties. As an appellate judge, Judge McFarland authored over 1,000 opinions and made over 2,900 panel votes and served as the Presiding and Administrative Judge for multiple years. He has served as a visiting Judge on the Supreme Court of Ohio on four separate occasions allowing him to sit on each level of the Ohio Judiciary including the trial, appellate, and supreme court bench. The Ohio Chief Justice also appointed him to serve as a Commissioner on the Board of Grievances and Discipline and the Advisory Committee on Court Security and Emergency.
On October 10, 2018, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate Judge McFarland to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio after being recommended by the Portman/Brown Bipartisan Federal Judicial Search Commission. The United States Senate received Judge McFarland’s nomination on November 13, 2018. At the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2019, the Senate returned Judge McFarland’s nomination to President Trump. President Trump then re-nominated Judge McFarland on January 23, 2019. The Senate Judiciary Committee held Judge McFarland’s confirmation hearing on June 26, 2019, and favorably voted his nomination to the full United States Senate on July 18, 2019. The United States Senate then confirmed Judge McFarland on December 18, 2019, and President Trump signed Judge McFarland’s Commission on December 31, 2019. With Judge McFarland’s confirmation, he is now only the second federal judge to serve the Southern District of Ohio from Scioto County. The first being Judge Albert Thompson, who served from 1898-1910. Judge McFarland succeeded Judge Thomas M. Rose who took senior status on June 30, 2017.
Deputy Counsel, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
Luke joined WILL from the Wisconsin Department of Justice where he served for nearly four years as a Deputy Solicitor General and Assistant Attorney General.
Berg has argued nine cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court and four before the Seventh Circuit, including one en banc argument. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison (B.S.) and New York University (J.D.) and served as a law clerk for Judge Diane Sykes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Prior to joining the Wisconsin DOJ in 2015, Berg worked as an attorney for the Office of the Comptroller of Currency in Washington D.C.
Berg resides in Madison with his wife and three boys.
Vice President and Director of Litigation, EdChoice
Thomas M. Fisher served as a Deputy Attorney General for 22 years and as Indiana’s first Solicitor General from 2005-2023. In that role he handled high profile litigation for the State, defended state statutes against constitutional attack, advised the Attorney General on a range of legal policy issues, and managed the State’s U.S. Supreme Court docket. A two-time recipient of the National Association of Attorneys General Best Brief Award, Fisher has argued five times before the High Court.
His U.S. Supreme Court experience also includes authorship of dozens of cert-stage and merits-stage amicus curiae briefs on a wide range of issues. In addition, Fisher has argued dozens of important and high-profile cases before both the Indiana Supreme Court and the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Fisher is a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and was recently named a Sagamore of the Wabash by Governor Eric Holcomb.
A native Hoosier, Fisher is a graduate of Wabash College and Indiana University Maurer School of Law, where he serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law.
Senior Counsel, Vice President of Advocacy Strategy, Alliance Defending Freedom
Emilie Kao serves as senior counsel and vice president of advocacy strategy for Alliance Defending Freedom, where she is a member of the U.S. Legal Team. In this role, she supports ADF’s legal and legislative objectives through culture shaping initiatives.
Before joining ADF, Kao served as director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at the Heritage Foundation. She led a team of experts who provided strategy, research, and policy recommendations on life, marriage, and religious freedom consistent with Constitutional principles. She convened coalitions of strategic partners to support the protection of religious freedom and launched the Promise to America’s Children, a movement dedicated to the protection of children and parental rights.
Kao also served as senior legal counsel at an international human rights law firm, East Asia team leader in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of International Human Rights, and director of international advocacy at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. She was an adjunct professor at Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University and is co-editor of the “First Principles on International Human Rights” essay series.
She has testified before the U.S. Congress and spoken at the United Nations in Geneva and New York. She has been interviewed and quoted extensively in the media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, C-SPAN, and 60 Minutes+.
Kao earned her A.B. cum laude from Harvard University and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. She is a member of the state bars of California and the District of Columbia and is admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court. She speaks Mandarin Chinese.
United States District Judge, Southern District of Ohio
Judge Matthew W. McFarland was born in Portsmouth, Scioto County, Ohio, and raised in Wheelersburg. He graduated from Wheelersburg High School in 1985, from Capital University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, and from the Capital University Law School in 1992, where he was inducted in the Order of the Barristers. He also served as a research assistant for Dean Rodney K. Smith. Judge McFarland first took the bench in 1999 as a Magistrate in the Scioto County Common Pleas Court. He was first elected to the Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals in 2004 serving fourteen southeast Ohio counties. In 2010 and 2016 he was re-elected, and in 2016 by winning all fourteen counties. As an appellate judge, Judge McFarland authored over 1,000 opinions and made over 2,900 panel votes and served as the Presiding and Administrative Judge for multiple years. He has served as a visiting Judge on the Supreme Court of Ohio on four separate occasions allowing him to sit on each level of the Ohio Judiciary including the trial, appellate, and supreme court bench. The Ohio Chief Justice also appointed him to serve as a Commissioner on the Board of Grievances and Discipline and the Advisory Committee on Court Security and Emergency.
On October 10, 2018, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate Judge McFarland to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio after being recommended by the Portman/Brown Bipartisan Federal Judicial Search Commission. The United States Senate received Judge McFarland’s nomination on November 13, 2018. At the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2019, the Senate returned Judge McFarland’s nomination to President Trump. President Trump then re-nominated Judge McFarland on January 23, 2019. The Senate Judiciary Committee held Judge McFarland’s confirmation hearing on June 26, 2019, and favorably voted his nomination to the full United States Senate on July 18, 2019. The United States Senate then confirmed Judge McFarland on December 18, 2019, and President Trump signed Judge McFarland’s Commission on December 31, 2019. With Judge McFarland’s confirmation, he is now only the second federal judge to serve the Southern District of Ohio from Scioto County. The first being Judge Albert Thompson, who served from 1898-1910. Judge McFarland succeeded Judge Thomas M. Rose who took senior status on June 30, 2017.
Plenary Session 3: A Discussion on the Right: Parental Rights in Education
Luke Berg, Vernadette Ramírez Broyles, William Anthony Estrada, Ben J. Gibson, Thomas S. Vaseliou
Next year marks a century since the Supreme Court concluded in Pierce v. Society of...
Panel I: Recent Developments on Parental Rights
Luke Berg, Thomas M. Fisher, Emilie Kao, Matthew W. McFarland
Anxiety regarding parental rights in American healthcare and education is at an all time high. ...
Panel I: Recent Developments on Parental Rights
Luke Berg, Thomas M. Fisher, Emilie Kao, Matthew W. McFarland
Anxiety regarding parental rights in American healthcare and education is at an all time high. ...