Michael P. Farris, Esq.
Michael P. Farris is Chairman and General Counsel of the Home School Legal Defense Association and Chancellor of Patrick Henry College.
Since founding HSLDA in 1983, Farris has used his extensive experience in both politics and appellate litigation to defend parental rights and help grow the organization to over 80,000 member families. He is also the founding president and current Chancellor of Patrick Henry College, a Christian institution with the mission of training students through a classical liberal arts curriculum and apprenticeship methodology to impact the world “for Christ and for Liberty.”
Farris has written over a dozen books, including three novels, a constitutional law textbook, and works on marriage, parenting, homeschooling, political advocacy, and religious liberty. His daily radio program, Home School Heartbeat, airs on several hundred stations nationwide.
In recognition of his work in home education, Education Week has named Farris one of the “Top 100 Faces in Education of the 20th Century.” Heritage Foundation awarded him its Salvatori Award for American Citizenship in 2002.
Mike and Vickie Farris live in Purcellville, Virginia, and have ten children and ten grandchildren.
J. Michael Smith, Esq.
Attorney Mike Smith is the President of Home School Legal Defense Association, an organization which he helped found in 1983. Established to protect the right of parents to teach their children at home, HSLDA now represents over 81,000 member families. Mike became involved in defending homeschoolers after he and his wife Elizabeth decided to homeschool their children. Three of their four children graduated from home schooling and all have graduated from college.
Mike has been speaking at home school conferences for over 15 years. His desire is to communicate his overriding belief that God has raised up this movement for a special purpose at this time in history, and that the benefits of home schooling far exceed the burdens, with special emphasis on encouragement to moms and challenge to dads to be involved.
William A. Estrada
A homeschool graduate from Pennsylvania and the eldest of eight children, Will began working for Home School Legal Defense Association in January, 2004 as a legal assistant to Staff Attorney Scott Woodruff. After graduating from Oak Brook College of Law with his J.D., he moved to HSLDA's Federal Relations department to serve as HSLDA’s federal lobbyist. As HSLDA’s representative on Capitol Hill, Will uses his passion for homeschooling to advocate for all homeschoolers before Congress and the federal departments.
In October, 2007, Will took over as the director of Generation Joshua, a division of HSLDA, where he works with young people who are passionate about making a difference in politics, along with continuing to serve as HSLDA's federal lobbyist. Will and his wife, Rachel, also a homeschool graduate as well as an accomplished portrait artist, reside in northern Virginia.