Alan Sears is the Founder of Alliance Defending Freedom and ADF International. As the first president, CEO, and General Counsel, Sears led all strategic initiatives from 1993 through 2017. Sears is the author of several books, including his most recent title, The Soul of an American President: The Untold Story of Dwight D. Eisenhower's Faith. Sears has received many awards from Catholic, other Christian, and legal entities including the 2017 Edwin Meese III Originalism and Religious Liberty Award. He also received the 2017 William Wilberforce Award from The Colson Center, and with his wife, Paula has been invested as a Knight/Dame of the Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (KSG) per Pope Francis, the highest award given by the Pope to a layperson.