Senior Counsel, Director of Center for Parental Rights, Alliance Defending Freedom
Kate Anderson serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where she is the director of the Center for Parental Rights.
Since joining ADF in 2015, Anderson has focused on protecting the conscience rights of individuals being unjustly compelled to forfeit their beliefs under threat of government retaliation, heavy fines, or other punishment. In Country Mill Farms v. City of East Lansing, she has defended the constitutionally protected right of a farmer to express his beliefs without fear of losing his license to serve customers at the city’s farmer’s market.
In 303 Creative v. Elenis and Amy Lynn Photography Studio v. City of Madison, Anderson has counseled creative professionals in pre-enforcement challenges to laws that would force them to promote messages contradicting their core beliefs. In R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC and Downtown Hope Center v. Municipality of Anchorage, Anderson argued that all Americans should be free to rely on what the law says and that redefining “sex” to mean “gender identity” creates chaos and is unfair to women and girls. Her litigation practice also includes Privacy Matters v. United States Department of Education, one of several ADF challenges to the Obama-era federal mandate that denied students, parents, and community members the fundamental right to bodily privacy.
Prior to joining ADF, Anderson was an associate attorney with Ellis, Li & McKinstry, PLLC, in Seattle, where she litigated both civil and criminal cases. She served on the trial team in Stormans v. Wiesman, a pivotal case in defense of freedom of conscience for pharmacists in Washington state. Anderson obtained her law degree magna cum laude in 2009 from Gonzaga University School of Law, where she served on the Gonzaga Law Review. Anderson is admitted to the state bars of Arizona and Washington, the U.S. Supreme Court, and several federal district and appellate courts.
Vice President & Senior Legal Fellow, Defending Education
Sarah Parshall Perry is vice president and senior legal fellow at Defending Education.
Before coming to Defending Education, Sarah served as a Senior Legal Fellow for the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, part of the Institute for Constitutional Government at Heritage, where her work centered on civil rights and the proper role of the courts.
Sarah joined Heritage after serving as Senior Counsel to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education where she focused on policy reform, technical guidance, and the Office for Civil Rights’ (OCR) annual report to Congress. While at OCR, she was appointed by the Acting Assistant Secretary to co-chair the Employment Engagement, Diversity, & Inclusion Council and, in coordination with the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement oversee the hiring of dozens of attorneys for OCR’s 12 regional offices nationwide. Prior to her tenure at the Department of Education, she spent six years at the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. where she was Senior Fellow for Education Reform and later, became the regular substitute host for the “Washington Watch” radio show. Her work at the Family Research Council also included the building and oversight of multiple policy coalitions geared toward the fight against antisemitism in academia, curbing tech censorship, and protecting religious liberty.
Before joining FRC, Sarah was in-house counsel and director of development for a Baltimore advertising agency, providing management of all new business transactions from pitch to contract execution for the multi-million-dollar enterprise. She began her practice at the litigation firm of Simms Showers, LLP where her work included Title VII employment discrimination, maritime/admiralty, and False Claims Act (“Qui Tam”) law. Sarah has a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she was an editor of the Virginia Journal of International Law, a recipient of the American Jurisprudence award, a Phi Delta Phi honor society member, and a student practitioner in the appellate litigation clinic where she argued before the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. She holds a B.S. in Journalism with honors from Liberty University.
Her commentary and analysis have appeared in media outlets across the country, including the AP, BBC, Fox News, NPR, The Hill, Washington Post, Washington Times, and the New York Times. She is the mother of three children, and the author of just as many books on the trials and triumphs of parenting children on the autism spectrum. Sarah is a member of the Kirkpatrick Society at the American Enterprise Institute, and makes her home north of Baltimore, Maryland.
Senior Counsel, Director of Center for Parental Rights, Alliance Defending Freedom
Kate Anderson serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where she is the director of the Center for Parental Rights.
Since joining ADF in 2015, Anderson has focused on protecting the conscience rights of individuals being unjustly compelled to forfeit their beliefs under threat of government retaliation, heavy fines, or other punishment. In Country Mill Farms v. City of East Lansing, she has defended the constitutionally protected right of a farmer to express his beliefs without fear of losing his license to serve customers at the city’s farmer’s market.
In 303 Creative v. Elenis and Amy Lynn Photography Studio v. City of Madison, Anderson has counseled creative professionals in pre-enforcement challenges to laws that would force them to promote messages contradicting their core beliefs. In R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC and Downtown Hope Center v. Municipality of Anchorage, Anderson argued that all Americans should be free to rely on what the law says and that redefining “sex” to mean “gender identity” creates chaos and is unfair to women and girls. Her litigation practice also includes Privacy Matters v. United States Department of Education, one of several ADF challenges to the Obama-era federal mandate that denied students, parents, and community members the fundamental right to bodily privacy.
Prior to joining ADF, Anderson was an associate attorney with Ellis, Li & McKinstry, PLLC, in Seattle, where she litigated both civil and criminal cases. She served on the trial team in Stormans v. Wiesman, a pivotal case in defense of freedom of conscience for pharmacists in Washington state. Anderson obtained her law degree magna cum laude in 2009 from Gonzaga University School of Law, where she served on the Gonzaga Law Review. Anderson is admitted to the state bars of Arizona and Washington, the U.S. Supreme Court, and several federal district and appellate courts.
Vice President & Senior Legal Fellow, Defending Education
Sarah Parshall Perry is vice president and senior legal fellow at Defending Education.
Before coming to Defending Education, Sarah served as a Senior Legal Fellow for the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, part of the Institute for Constitutional Government at Heritage, where her work centered on civil rights and the proper role of the courts.
Sarah joined Heritage after serving as Senior Counsel to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education where she focused on policy reform, technical guidance, and the Office for Civil Rights’ (OCR) annual report to Congress. While at OCR, she was appointed by the Acting Assistant Secretary to co-chair the Employment Engagement, Diversity, & Inclusion Council and, in coordination with the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement oversee the hiring of dozens of attorneys for OCR’s 12 regional offices nationwide. Prior to her tenure at the Department of Education, she spent six years at the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. where she was Senior Fellow for Education Reform and later, became the regular substitute host for the “Washington Watch” radio show. Her work at the Family Research Council also included the building and oversight of multiple policy coalitions geared toward the fight against antisemitism in academia, curbing tech censorship, and protecting religious liberty.
Before joining FRC, Sarah was in-house counsel and director of development for a Baltimore advertising agency, providing management of all new business transactions from pitch to contract execution for the multi-million-dollar enterprise. She began her practice at the litigation firm of Simms Showers, LLP where her work included Title VII employment discrimination, maritime/admiralty, and False Claims Act (“Qui Tam”) law. Sarah has a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she was an editor of the Virginia Journal of International Law, a recipient of the American Jurisprudence award, a Phi Delta Phi honor society member, and a student practitioner in the appellate litigation clinic where she argued before the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. She holds a B.S. in Journalism with honors from Liberty University.
Her commentary and analysis have appeared in media outlets across the country, including the AP, BBC, Fox News, NPR, The Hill, Washington Post, Washington Times, and the New York Times. She is the mother of three children, and the author of just as many books on the trials and triumphs of parenting children on the autism spectrum. Sarah is a member of the Kirkpatrick Society at the American Enterprise Institute, and makes her home north of Baltimore, Maryland.
Partner, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP
Miles practices in the areas of appeals, business litigation, and First Amendment law. In addition to representing clients in complex civil and criminal litigation and appeals, Miles advises and represents public and private universities and serves as outside general counsel to several business and educational clients. He also represents and counsels private entities and government agencies and officials, including multiple current and former governors of South Carolina and members of Congress, on issues relating to the constitutional and statutory freedoms of speech, religion, and association. His First Amendment work has been cited by the United States Supreme Court.
Senior Counsel and Vice President of U.S. Litigation, Alliance Defending Freedom
David A. Cortman, Esq., serves as senior counsel and vice president of U.S. litigation with Alliance Defending Freedom. He joined ADF in 2005 and currently supervises a team of nearly 40 attorneys and legal staff who specialize in constitutional law, focusing on religious freedom, sanctity of life, and marriage and family.
Cortman has successfully litigated over 200 constitutional law cases in both federal and state court at all levels. He has also litigated several U.S. Supreme Court cases, including arguing before the Court in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, which resulted in a 9-0 victory, with the Court holding that the government could not discriminate against religious speech while favoring political speech. He served as lead counsel in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Pauley, which was decided in the Church's favor. He has also served as lead or co-counsel in victories at the high court in Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Burwell, successfully challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services abortion pill mandate that forces employers to provide healthcare coverage that includes abortion-inducing drugs in violation of their religious convictions; Town of Greece v. Galloway, successfully defending the freedom of Americans to pray at public meetings.
Cortman earned his J.D. from Regent University School of Law in 1996, graduating magna cum laude. He is a member of the state bar in Georgia, Florida, Arizona, and the District of Columbia, and is admitted to practice in over two dozen federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. He also teaches legal courses on the First Amendment and civil rights litigation.
Partner, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP
Miles practices in the areas of appeals, business litigation, and First Amendment law. In addition to representing clients in complex civil and criminal litigation and appeals, Miles advises and represents public and private universities and serves as outside general counsel to several business and educational clients. He also represents and counsels private entities and government agencies and officials, including multiple current and former governors of South Carolina and members of Congress, on issues relating to the constitutional and statutory freedoms of speech, religion, and association. His First Amendment work has been cited by the United States Supreme Court.
Senior Counsel and Vice President of U.S. Litigation, Alliance Defending Freedom
David A. Cortman, Esq., serves as senior counsel and vice president of U.S. litigation with Alliance Defending Freedom. He joined ADF in 2005 and currently supervises a team of nearly 40 attorneys and legal staff who specialize in constitutional law, focusing on religious freedom, sanctity of life, and marriage and family.
Cortman has successfully litigated over 200 constitutional law cases in both federal and state court at all levels. He has also litigated several U.S. Supreme Court cases, including arguing before the Court in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, which resulted in a 9-0 victory, with the Court holding that the government could not discriminate against religious speech while favoring political speech. He served as lead counsel in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Pauley, which was decided in the Church's favor. He has also served as lead or co-counsel in victories at the high court in Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Burwell, successfully challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services abortion pill mandate that forces employers to provide healthcare coverage that includes abortion-inducing drugs in violation of their religious convictions; Town of Greece v. Galloway, successfully defending the freedom of Americans to pray at public meetings.
Cortman earned his J.D. from Regent University School of Law in 1996, graduating magna cum laude. He is a member of the state bar in Georgia, Florida, Arizona, and the District of Columbia, and is admitted to practice in over two dozen federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. He also teaches legal courses on the First Amendment and civil rights litigation.
Judicial Law Clerk, 31st Circuit Court of Virginia
Peter is a legal professional, receiving his J.D. in 2024 from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He has experience in both the public and private sectors, having worked as a crime analyst for Memphis Police Department, and a geographic information systems analyst for Geomni, a private aerial imaging firm. He also has experience in historical and geopolitical research and analysis, including a peer-reviewed essay on U.S.-Pakistani relations during the Soviet-Afghan War, published in BYU's journal for undergraduate historical research. He is an American patriot and wants to use his analytical skill to serve his nation and community.
Honor Law Graduate Attorney, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Judicial Law Clerk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Leo O'Malley graduated, with honors, from the University of Notre Dame School of Law, where he served as a Showcase Team Oralist on the Moot Court Board and the Director of the 2022-23 Religious Freedom Tournament. He recently completed a clerkship with Justice Janine Kern of the South Dakota Supreme Court and is currently clerking on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. He will go on to clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit during the 2027-28 term.
A National Merit Scholarship Recipient, Leo previously graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton College, IL in 2020, with a BS in Applied Mathematics and a BM in Organ Performance. While in high school, Leo performed on classical violin at a competitive level, being recognized at numerous local and national music competitions and participating in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory. In his free time, Leo enjoys reading fantasy novels and experiencing historical architecture. His passion lies in finding innovative and pragmatic solutions to the political, economic, and societal issues facing America in the 21st Century.
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Devon Westhill is the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nomination of Westhill on October 7, 2025.
Westhill returns to the USDA where he previously headed the civil rights office as Deputy Assistant Secretary in President Trump’s first term. His previous government appointments also include service at the U.S. Department of Labor, liaison to the Administrative Conference of the U.S., and liaison to the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Prior to returning to government service, Westhill was President and General Counsel of a nonprofit civil rights organization.
Westhill has testified on civil rights matters before Congress, federal agencies, and as an expert witness in federal court. He has spoken hundreds of times at college campuses, conferences, and on radio and TV programs, and he is frequently quoted in print publications, and his writing has appeared in numerous national outlets. A U.S. Navy veteran, Westhill earned his BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his JD from the University of Florida.
Judicial Law Clerk, 31st Circuit Court of Virginia
Peter is a legal professional, receiving his J.D. in 2024 from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He has experience in both the public and private sectors, having worked as a crime analyst for Memphis Police Department, and a geographic information systems analyst for Geomni, a private aerial imaging firm. He also has experience in historical and geopolitical research and analysis, including a peer-reviewed essay on U.S.-Pakistani relations during the Soviet-Afghan War, published in BYU's journal for undergraduate historical research. He is an American patriot and wants to use his analytical skill to serve his nation and community.
Honor Law Graduate Attorney, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Judicial Law Clerk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Leo O'Malley graduated, with honors, from the University of Notre Dame School of Law, where he served as a Showcase Team Oralist on the Moot Court Board and the Director of the 2022-23 Religious Freedom Tournament. He recently completed a clerkship with Justice Janine Kern of the South Dakota Supreme Court and is currently clerking on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. He will go on to clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit during the 2027-28 term.
A National Merit Scholarship Recipient, Leo previously graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton College, IL in 2020, with a BS in Applied Mathematics and a BM in Organ Performance. While in high school, Leo performed on classical violin at a competitive level, being recognized at numerous local and national music competitions and participating in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory. In his free time, Leo enjoys reading fantasy novels and experiencing historical architecture. His passion lies in finding innovative and pragmatic solutions to the political, economic, and societal issues facing America in the 21st Century.
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Devon Westhill is the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nomination of Westhill on October 7, 2025.
Westhill returns to the USDA where he previously headed the civil rights office as Deputy Assistant Secretary in President Trump’s first term. His previous government appointments also include service at the U.S. Department of Labor, liaison to the Administrative Conference of the U.S., and liaison to the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Prior to returning to government service, Westhill was President and General Counsel of a nonprofit civil rights organization.
Westhill has testified on civil rights matters before Congress, federal agencies, and as an expert witness in federal court. He has spoken hundreds of times at college campuses, conferences, and on radio and TV programs, and he is frequently quoted in print publications, and his writing has appeared in numerous national outlets. A U.S. Navy veteran, Westhill earned his BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his JD from the University of Florida.
Senior Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
Chris Kieser practices in PLF’s property rights and equality before the law practice groups.
His property rights clients include Cedar Point Nursery, which challenged a California regulation requiring them to allow union organizers to invade their private property, as well as Randall and Kimberley Pavlock, who are fighting back against Indiana’s beachfront land grab along Lake Michigan.
Under equality before the law, Chris represents coalitions of Asian-American parents challenging discriminatory admissions policies for selective K-12 schools in New York City; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Fairfax County, Virginia. He also represents a parent organization in Connecticut challenging a racial quota that prevents many Black and Hispanic students from enrolling at the state’s magnet schools.
Chris has published law review articles in the William & Mary Environmental Law Review and the Federalist Society Review. His op-eds have appeared in the New York Daily News, National Review, The Blaze, the Daily Journal, and SCOTUSblog.
Chris clerked for the Honorable Daniel A. Manion of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the Honorable Thomas D. Schroeder of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. He holds a B.A., cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame, and graduated magna cum laude from Notre Dame Law School in 2013. At Notre Dame, he was an articles editor of the Notre Dame Law Review.
Growing up on Long Island, Chris developed a deep passion for limited government and individual liberty, arguing with his more numerous progressive classmates. This experience made him deeply skeptical that government tinkering at the expense of individual rights ever works, whether it be denying a property owner the use of his land or a student a seat at her desired school because of her race. He chose PLF because it is the national leader in litigation that furthers individual liberty.
When he’s not working, you’re likely to find Chris rooting for the Mets and Fighting Irish or debating some arcane point of law (because apparently that doesn’t happen enough at work).
Chris is currently licensed to practice in California and admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Courts of Appeal for the Second, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits, and the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Central Districts of California, the Northern District of Indiana, and the Northern District of Illinois.
General Counsel, Mountain States Legal Foundation
William E. Trachman is General Counsel for Mountain States Legal Foundation, where he protects the rights of individuals to live freely and securely under the U.S. Constitution. Previously, he was appointed to serve in the Department of Education as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office for Civil Rights. Prior to his appointment, he served as General Counsel to the Douglas County School District, where he helped litigate the fight for school choice in the school district. Presently, Mr. Trachman serves as Chair of the Colorado Federalist Society and the Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’ Colorado Advisory Board. He previously taught as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law. He attended U.C. Berkeley for both undergraduate and law school, and then clerked for the Honorable Harris Hartz on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Trachman is licensed in Colorado, California, and Washington, D.C.
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