Alan Sears serves as Founder of Alliance Defending Freedom. As its first president, CEO, and general counsel, Sears led all strategic initiatives from 1993-2017. He built an international team committed to a comprehensive legal strategy that includes training, funding, and legal advocacy—resulting in important roles in 52 landmark victories at the U.S. Supreme Court.

While serving in numerous positions within the Reagan and Bush administrations, he worked for the Department of Justice and the Department of Interior. A graduate of the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law and the University of Kentucky, Sears has continued his education with professional instruction at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School, Pepperdine University, and most recently earned a certificate in Catholic Social Doctrine from the Catholic University of America.

In 2017, Pope Francis honored Alan Sears and his wife, Paula, knighting them into the Order of St. Gregory the Great, the highest honor the Pope can bestow upon laypeople. In 2011, Legatus International presented Sears with its Courage in the Marketplace Award.”