Come back for more updates to our 2025 Defending Ed Parent Conference Speaker lists and biographies.

News from Washington: The Trump Education Agenda and What it Means for the States

Moderator: Alfonso Aguilar, Defending Education | @amigoaguilar

Alfonso Aguilar is Senior Director of Government Affairs at Defending Education and a longtime conservative voice on issues including religious liberty, immigration, and Latin American policy. He served as the first Chief of the U.S. Office of Citizenship under President George W. Bush and held senior roles in both the Bush administration and the government of Puerto Rico.

Speakers:

Catherine Gunsalus, Varidon Strategies | @C_Gunsalus

Catherine Gunsalus is the President of Varidon Strategies.  Prior to Varidon Catherine was part of the Heritage Action team.  She served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Kansas. During her tenure with the Secretary of State, Catherine managed an office of approximately 35 staff, including nine direct reports and a $14 million-dollar budget, directed federal grant expenditures for enhanced election security in Kansas, oversaw state election integrity policies, and successfully managed the execution of the 2020 election in Kansas. Prior to her appointment as Assistant Secretary of State, Catherine successfully managed a statewide campaign for the now-elected Secretary of State and served as Chief of Staff to the Speaker Pro Tem for almost five years in the Kansas Legislature. She is originally from Florida, but has called Kansas home for more than a decade.


Joseph Kohm, Family Policy Alliance | @jakohm3

Joseph Kohm III, Esq. serves as Vice President of Public Policy at Family Policy Alliance and Family Policy Alliance Foundation. In this role, he leads FPA’s policy strategy, providing legal and legislative expertise to elected representatives working to enact laws that protect women’s safety and opportunities, vulnerable children and families, parental rights, and born and unborn children. He has worked extensively on FPA’s Help Not Harm, After Roe, Save Girls Sports, and Let Parents Parent campaigns to facilitate the enactment of numerous laws achieving these and other pro-family policy objectives.

Joseph has testified in many state government hearings and spoken at various events on these and other social issues. He also regularly host the House to Home podcast for FPAF to inform and educate thousands of listeners and viewers on pro-family policy news.

Joseph is a U.S. Army veteran of the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), where he served as an officer in First Brigade Combat Team. His previous legal experiences are in military justice investigations within the armed forces as well as anti-human trafficking efforts, both in foreign and domestic jurisdictions


Victoria Cobb, The Family Foundation of Virginia | @TFFVA

Victoria Cobb is President of The Family Foundation of Virginia, the largest and oldest pro-family advocacy organization in Virginia, where she maintains the vision, mission and strategies of the organization.  In her 20th year as President, she now also oversees the work of their legal arm, the Founding Freedoms Law Center. 

Victoria is also President of The Family Foundation Action, a 501c(4) that protects families and promotes responsible citizenship by giving Virginians the tools they need to hold their elected officials accountable, including educating and mobilizing voters in key elections.

In her role as spokesperson for the organization, she is often quoted in the media. Her weekly commentary on the issues of the day can be heard on Speak Up! radio.  She currently serves on the Board of Directors for John Jay Institute and Family Policy Alliance.

Victoria earned her B.A., Political Science and Leadership Studies at University of Richmond.  She and her husband Matt and their four children reside in Richmond, Virginia.

Crash Course in Robert’s Rules for Inside-Outside Operations

Speaker:

Bill Gillmeister, Call to Order | @bylawbill

Bill Gillmeister is a Ph.D. Agricultural Economist turned grassroots activist with nearly 30 years’ experience in legislative procedure and general parliamentary procedure working at the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and, after leaving state government, with grassroots activist organizations in Massachusetts. Through his business, Call To Order Governance Services, Bylaw Bill, as he’s come to be known, has provided parliamentarian and governance services for local and national organizations. He focuses on advising and training members of school boards and coalitions of state legislators throughout the country on how to plan for and use parliamentary procedure in policy and legislative battles to achieve success. He is a 15-year school committee veteran and has been Town Moderator for his hometown of Brookfield, Massachusetts since 2021.

You are the Media: Social Media Savvy

Moderator: Paul Runko, Defending Education | @PaulRunko

Paul Runko is the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, K-12 Programs for Defending Education. Paul has many years of experience in media as well as in education. He is the father of two.

Speakers:


Bethany Mandel, Author | @bethanyshondark

Bethany Mandel is a homeschooling mother of six based in the DC area. She is the co-author of Stolen Youth. She writes and podcasts at the Mom Wars. 

Matt Whitlock, CRC Advisors | @mattdizwhitlock

Matt Whitlock is a Senior Vice President at CRC Advisors, advising elected officials, candidates, thought leaders, and non-profit groups on media relations, political communications, social media, and strategic partnerships, overseeing CRC’s earned media and digital departments. Matt most recently worked as a senior advisor at the National Republican Senatorial Committee where he advised 23 Senate campaigns on messaging, communications, and digital strategy in the 2020 election cycle. Prior to that, Matt served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Communications Director to Senator Orrin Hatch, speechwriter to Senator Mike Lee, and worked in corporate communications at the Brunswick group.

Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Matt is a BYU graduate and currently lives in Alexandria with his wife Liz and two sons.


Haley Strack, National Review | @StrackHaley

Haley Strack is a staff writer at National Review, where she covers politics, culture, education, and current-events. A California native, she graduated from Hillsdale College in 2023, with degrees in politics and journalism. Before joining National Review she completed fellowships with several Washington, D.C.-based media outlets including the Federalist and the Washington Free Beacon. 

The Rights You Didn’t Know You Had

Moderator: Sarah Parshall Perry, Defending Education |@SarahPPerry

Sarah Parshall Perry is Vice President and Legal Fellow at Defending Education. A former Senior Counsel at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and former Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, she focuses on parental rights and civil rights law. Perry serves on the Federalist Society’s civil rights executive committee.

Speaker:


Daniel Lennington, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty |@DanLennington

Dan Lennington serves as Managing Vice President and Deputy Counsel, focusing on the Equality Under the Law Project. Dan previously served as the Assistant Deputy Attorney General and Deputy Solicitor General at the Wisconsin Department of Justice, where he argued constitutional law cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the Seventh Circuit, and state and federal trial courts around the state.

Before joining the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Dan was an award-winning federal prosecutor in Oklahoma. He is a graduate of Hillsdale College and Valparaiso University School of Law.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Katharine Birbalsingh | @Miss_Snuffy

Katharine Birbalsingh is the Chair of the Social Mobility Commission and Headmistress and co-founder of Michaela Community School in Wembley, London.

Michaela is known for its tough-love behavior systems, knowledge curriculum and teaching of kindness and gratitude. In 2017, Ofsted graded the school as ‘Outstanding’ in every category. In 2022, almost 75% of all GCSEs were graded 9 to 7 (A* to A). 98% of pupils achieved a 4+ (C or above) in both English and Math, with 99% of all pupils achieving grade 9 to 4 (A* to C) in at least 5 subjects.

Katharine has made numerous appearances on television and radio and has written for several UK publications. Katharine has written 2 books and edited 2 more, including The Power of Culture (published in June 2020).

Katharine was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours by the Queen.

Winning Practices

Moderator: Erika Sanzi, Defending Education | @esanzi

Erika Sanzi is the Senior Director of Communications at Defending Education. She is a former educator, NEA member and elected school board member. She is the mother of three sons and writes on Substack at Sanzi Says.

Speakers:

Frank McCormick, Parents Care

Frank McCormick is a former public school teacher turned education reform advocate, dedicated to empowering parents and restoring academic excellence in America’s classrooms. He is the co-founder of Parents Care and Americans for School Oversight, organizations that promote transparency, accountability, and student achievement. A frequent voice in the national conversation, Frank has appeared on FOX News, The Daily Wire, and other leading platforms to expose the ideological capture of K-12 schools. He now works to support grassroots oversight groups and help communities reclaim their schools.


Shannon Adcock, Awake IL | @Shannon_A_IL

Shannon Adcock is the founder and leader of Awake Illinois an independent grassroots movement she launched in 2021 to champion parental rights, education freedom, and family values across Illinois. A devoted wife and mom raising three kids, she fights unapologetically against woke indoctrination—from legislation lobbying to national media coverage—equipping families to stand firm for truth and liberty. Shannon is a proud graduate of Defending Ed’s Parent Academy and 2025 recipient of Illinois Family Institute’s Titanium Backbone Award.


Cristine Trooien, Minnesota Partnership for Achievement | @CTrooien

Cristine Trooien began her work as an advocate for K-12 education issues as the mother of three elementary-age children during the school closures of 2020 and 2021. In 2022, she founded Minnesota Parents Alliance, a 501c(4) organization which has played an instrumental role in helping more than 150 candidates get elected to school boards across Minnesota and has served as the voice for Minnesota parents on K-12 issues from St. Paul to Washington D.C. as well as in local and national media. In 2024, Cristine launched Minnesota Partnership for Achievement, a 501c(3) organization focused on providing elected leaders with the guidance, resources and support they need to serve effectively. To date, their rapidly growing network includes over 180 elected school board members representing over 75 districts across Minnesota. As the Executive Director of Minnesota Partnership for Achievement and through her work with School Boards of Academic Excellence, Cristine delights in inspiring and connecting champions for achievement across the country and continuing to prove that strong local leadership and better outcomes for K-12 students isn’t just for “red states”.

Advancing Advocacy

Moderator: Marissa Fallon, Defending Education

Marissa Fallon is the Senior Director of Advocacy for Defending Education. She is a founding member of Coalition for TJ, a group of parents and community members in Northern Virginia and has had leadership roles in her Parent Teacher Association. She has over two decades experience as a business owner and researcher. She is the mother of two sons.

Speakers:

Marie Tiemann, Speak VT for Parents in Education

Marie obtained a Liberal Arts degree from Green MT College, and a degree in Accounting from Champlain College. She is a single mother of 3 grown children and she has one grandson. She is passionate about the founding principles of the United States and believes it is vital to maintain an accurate history of our nation. Strong traditional family values are important to Marie, and she believes those values should be recognized and supported in our society, especially in the institutions of education. system. This led her to initiate a gathering of others in the Essex, VT community who are concerned about the state of affairs in the local school system.

Marie collaborated with another education advocate to host a Detransition Awareness Day on March 12th at the Vermont State House. The event was totally sabotaged by a trans activist group.  That action brought national attention to SPEAKVT and our mission which opened up opportunities for local radio and TV interviews.   Marie has been devoting more time to training for organization building, networking with other parent groups, and outreach to other VT communities.  


Melissa Jackson, Freedom in Education | @Melissajackga

Melissa Jackson is the President and Co-Founder of Freedom in Education, where she leads efforts to restore academic excellence and support meaningful learning for every student. Her decision to enter the education space was deeply personal—motivated by what she observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, as her four children experienced firsthand the gaps in content and engagement in their classrooms.

Today, Melissa is dedicated to advancing solutions that prioritize knowledge acquisition, spark curiosity, foster virtue, and cultivate wisdom. Under her leadership, Freedom in Education champions high-quality, content-rich learning environments that equip students to thrive—both as scholars and as citizens. Her vision is rooted in the belief that education should lead to human flourishing and a lifelong love of learning.

Erin Lee, Protect Kids Colorado | @ProtectKidsCO

Erin Lee is the mother of three children from Northern Colorado, a Speaker, Writer, Founder of Stop Gender Ideology and Director of Protect Kids Colorado. She has told the story of rescuing her 12-year-old daughter from transgender grooming in public school on Fox News, Glenn Beck, NewsMax, The Daily Wire, The Epoch Times, and others. She also released a film last year about their story called “Art Club” and now travels the country awakening parents to what’s happening in government schools and fighting back against gender ideology.