3H Leadership Consulting founder and principal Dr. Julie Armstrong helps mission-driven organizations develop the head, heart, and hands to lead people well. A leadership development consultant, speaker, and researcher, Julie specializes in equipping middle and emerging leaders to carry mission, culture, communication, and change into everyday practice. Julie holds a doctor of strategic leadership degree and is a CliftonStrengths Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, Working Genius Certified Facilitator, and SHRM Recertification Provider. Before founding 3H Leadership Consulting, she held leadership roles across corporate, nonprofit, and small-business environments. Julie and her husband, Mike, live in Virginia. They are former homeschooling parents with four grown children and two grandchildren.

Kevin Boden and his wife, Wendi, became homeschooling parents in 2008, when their oldest child was in 1st grade. Now, many years later, they continue to educate all their children at home. Kevin is a graduate of Wheaton College and received his JD from Seattle University. Before joining HSLDA, Kevin served on active duty in the US Air Force for 10 years as a judge advocate, which allowed him and Wendi to homeschool in three different countries and five states. Kevin has served three years in the Alaska Air National Guard and continues his service as a drill-status guardsman. As an HSLDA staff attorney, Kevin serves as the primary contact for members in nine states and one territory. He is passionate about the freedom to homeschool and the blessings of being a dad. He also enjoys running, (almost) all things outdoors, and spending time with his family.

Chris Butler is a homeschool dad, pastor, advocate, and experienced organization builder with over 25 years dedicated to public service at the intersection of faith and civic life. He and his amazing wife, Aziza, have six wonderful children. Chris has pastored at Ambassador Church (formerly Chicago Embassy Church Network) for nine years. He also serves as the director of Christian Civic Formation at the Center for Christianity and Public Life, where he leads efforts to equip Christians for thoughtful and transformative engagement in the public square, creating resources and spaces that encourage spiritual and civic formation for the common good. Chris is a strong supporter of homeschooling freedom and parental rights, and his 2022 primary campaign, in which he ran from Chicago’s South Side as a pro-life Democrat for Illinois’s first congressional district, was endorsed by the HSLDA Action PAC. Chris holds a master's in theology from Northwest University and is a coauthor of Compassion (&) Conviction: The AND Campaign’s Guide to Faithful Civic Engagement.

Chrystal Evans Hurst is a speaker, best-selling author, coach, and entrepreneur who helps individuals and organizations lead with greater clarity, confidence, and purpose. As founder of The Sister Circle, Chrystal has built a thriving membership community and professional development platform that equips women through coaching, leadership training, live events, and digital education. Drawing from years of experience in leadership, communication, and personal growth, she helps leaders, communicators, and entrepreneurs strengthen their message, expand their influence, and create meaningful impact. Known for her ability to blend strategic insight with authentic storytelling, Chrystal speaks on leadership, communication, resilience, and purpose-driven growth. Her practical, engaging approach has made her a trusted voice for audiences seeking both inspiration and actionable results. Chrystal is passionate about helping people lead with intention, communicate with confidence, and live with lasting impact.

Since joining HSLDA to lead the litigation team in 2001, Jim Mason has represented homeschooling families in a wide range of challenging situations and has set precedents that have expanded freedom for the homeschool community. Under Jim’s leadership, HSLDA’s 4th Amendment litigation work has changed the way three states (North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico) approach social services investigations. In Wilson v Russo, HSLDA won a $700,000 settlement for our client, a single parent whose children were seized by a rogue child protective services investigator. Jim was instrumental in litigating the 2008 California case Jonathan L., in which a state appellate court reversed its previous ruling that homeschooling was illegal. This put an end to years of controversy over the legal status of homeschooling in California and set a precedent that affects other states as well. Jim became the president of HSLDA in 2022 after serving as vice president of litigation and development for seven years. He also serves as the chairman of ParentalRightsFoundation.org. He and his wife Debbie live in Winchester, Virginia. They have seven children and seven grandchildren. The Masons homeschooled all of their children through high school.

Mike Schutt has served students as a Worldview Academy faculty member since 2002. Before taking on Worldview Academy's executive director role, he served as a clinical associate professor at Trinity Law School and director of the Institute for Christian Legal Studies, a cooperative ministry of the Christian Legal Society (where he directed the Law Student Ministries) and Regent University School of Law. He also taught on the faculty of Regent Law for 20 years. Mike’s book, Redeeming Law: Christian Calling and the Legal Profession, is an exhortation to students and lawyers on Christian integrity in the law. He lives in Mount Pleasant, Texas, with his wife, Lisa. They have three grown children and six grandchildren. Before entering academia, Mike practiced law in Fort Worth. He is an honors graduate of the University of Texas School of Law.

Jim Waters and his wife, Terry, homeschooled their four children from kindergarten through high school while navigating more than 20 moves during his US Navy career. Today, they are grateful to see all of their children launched into adulthood and enjoy spending time with their growing family, now with 12 grandchildren. Like many homeschool families, they learned firsthand the challenges of balancing family life, education, frequent transitions, and leadership responsibilities while building a strong home and community. Professionally, Jim has served for more than 37 years as a Navy submarine officer and rear admiral. A graduate of the US Naval Academy, he earned a master’s degree from Oxford University. He has led at every level, from commanding officer of a nuclear-powered submarine to submarine squadron and group commands, culminating in command of Navy Recruiting Command, where he was responsible for bringing in the next generation of US Navy Sailors. He currently oversees the assignments and professional development of all of the Navy’s admirals. Throughout his career, he has focused on building healthy, mission-driven organizations by developing leaders, strengthening culture, and fostering trust. He is passionate about helping homeschool organizations and other mission-driven communities build resilient teams, develop future leaders, and remain faithful to their purposes for generations to come.

Bible Study Fellowship has been central to the Brockway family since 2011. Tad Brockway and his wife, Natalie, have served in volunteer leadership roles and their children have grown up in BSF. Tad has extensive experience in the technology industry and a passion for sharing God’s Word with people around the world! Tad joined BSF as chief technology officer after 25 years at Microsoft, where he held multiple product and engineering roles. Most recently, Tad was a corporate vice president in Microsoft Azure, where he led cloud product teams in the areas of computing, storage, networking, and 5G technologies. He has an MBA from the University of Washington and a BS in computer science from Western Washington University. Tad and Natalie live with their children in San Antonio, Texas, and have made multiple visits visits to many parts of India.

Darren Jones has worked at HSLDA since 1996, first as a legal assistant and then as an attorney in various capacities. He spends his time at the office: 20% talking to members in legal difficulties, persuading them that it’s not as bad as it could be and HSLDA has got their back; 60% advising homeschool group leaders about everything from crafting statements of faith (he prefers the Nicene Creed) to designing policies to protect children at co-ops; 10% writing legal briefs (and wondering how in the world documents of 30 pages can possibly be called “brief”); 10% keeping HSLDA and its sister organizations in compliance with the charitable solicitation laws of way too many competing jurisdictions; and 100% advocating for the fundamental right of parents to direct the education of their children. Darren and his wife, Sara, homeschool as a team and have graduated the oldest two of their four children. He enjoys board games, teaching Sunday school, and speaking at homeschool conferences around the country.

Peter Kamakawiwoole was born in New England and raised in Hawaii. He graduated first in his class (of one) from Keolahou Christian Academy (est. 1992, by Peter and Rhonda Kamakawiwoole), earning the honorific of “guinea pig” along the way. After high school, Peter attended Patrick Henry College, where he met his wife, Corrie. They live in Northern Virginia with their five children. After earning his law degree from Saint Louis University School of Law, Peter returned to Northern Virginia to join HSLDA as a staff attorney. As the director of litigation, Peter assists families across the country with legal difficulties ranging from administrative appeals and Social Security benefits to truancy proceedings and civil rights lawsuits.

Matthew McDill and his wife, Dana, live in Clemmons, North Carolina, with three of their nine children. Matthew has been in pastoral ministry for over 25 years and is now the executive director of North Carolinians for Home Education. He also serves as board chairman for the National Alliance of Christian Home Education Leadership. He earned his MDiv and PhD at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and authored the book Loving God: A Practical Handbook for Discipleship. Matthew loves to teach from God’s Word, especially on topics related to family relationships, discipleship, parenting, leadership, and home education.

Anne Miller is president and executive director of the Home Educators Association of Virginia, where she has served Virginia’s homeschool community for 37 years. She and her team work with educators, researchers, legislators, and policy leaders to help shape education policy and protect homeschooling freedoms and parental rights. Anne serves on the Johns Hopkins Homeschool Research Lab’s Community Advisory Panel and the advisory council of the National Alliance of Christian Home Education Leadership. She also received HSLDA’s Chris Klicka Award for steadfast courage, dedication, and leadership. Anne and her husband, Jeff, decided to homeschool in 1980 and raised eight always-homeschooled, now-married children who have become entrepreneurs, teachers, business owners, builders, engineers—and even NASA rocket scientists. They enjoy their growing family of soon-to-be 30 grandchildren while living the HGTV dream of remodeling homes in Williamsburg.

Suzanne Nunn has a passion for homeschooling and for helping to equip others who want to homeschool their children. After 13 years of teaching in public and private schools, serving as a peer mentor to new teachers, and cowriting several curricula, Suzanne was called to begin a homeschooling journey with her own children. With more than 18 years of successful homeschooling experience, Suzanne’s passion to help others begin and succeed in their own homeschool journeys has been realized as she has served in her local support group and is now serving as chairman of the board and director of events for Florida Parent Educators Association. It is through serving in leadership that she has developed a unique interest in helping to develop and equip those who desire to lead in this generation and the next. Suzanne has a bachelors of arts degree with an emphasis in history education from the University of West Florida and has a wide range of professional experience, but nothing brings her joy quite like her family or a Florida beach. She is married to Michael and they have five children and seven grands who call her Annie. Suzanne writes, speaks, and podcasts about everything that she is passionate about . . . and then some.

Juhani Paavolainen is a dedicated advocate for homeschooling families across the Nordic region. As a young man, he set aside his legal studies to enter construction, following his father, who had built a thriving construction company. Three decades later, drawn back by a renewed sense of purpose, he returned to the law. Today, Juhani puts his legal knowledge to work for the homeschooling community. Through the association he founded, he provides pro bono legal assistance and guidance to families navigating the regulatory challenges of home education in Finland—a far more constrained environment than the one familiar to American families. His work reaches throughout Scandinavia, where he also conducts research and supports families and fellow advocates across the region. With his wife, Tintti, Juhani is a devoted parent of three sons and two daughters. He brings to his advocacy not only legal skill but the conviction of a father who believes deeply in the freedom to educate one's own children.

Ian Anthony Reid is a film director, writer, and producer known for creating cinematic stories that explore culture, history, and human purpose. As the founder of Distant Moon, he develops narrative films and documentaries that engage life’s essential questions and inspire human flourishing. His work combines strong visual storytelling with thoughtful themes, often examining how ideas shape individuals and societies. Recent projects include Revolutionary America, a feature-length documentary produced in partnership with Hillsdale College that explores the people, ideas, and events that shaped the American founding. Based in Washington, DC, Ian continues to develop original film projects that unite compelling storytelling with lasting cultural impact.

Kirk Smith joined Illinois Christian Home Educators as the executive director in 2013 after 25 years of pastoring. He and his wife, Joely, have 11 children and are now anticipating the next generation of homeschoolers with their three grandchildren. In their 30 years of homeschooling, the vision of home discipleship with the centrality of Jesus Christ has been their passion and anchor.

Karin van Oostrum, from Pretoria, South Africa, has been involved in the Pestalozzi Trust—the South African legal defense fund for home and civil education—since its inception in 1998. She and her late husband, Leendert, founded the Trust to advocate for freedom in education and to protect and defend children’s right to learn and parents’ right to choose the kind of education they deem to be in their child's best interest. Karin and Leendert started homeschooling their three daughters in 1988. Before her marriage, Karin obtained a BA honours in Latin and applied linguistics and worked as a lecturer, youth worker, translator, and editor. When Leendert passed away in October 2016, Karin was appointed manager of the Trust. She is responsible for the Trust's general and financial administration, and she loves encouraging newbie and veteran homeschoolers and small-school owners. Karin accompanied Leendert to the Global Home Education Conference in Berlin (2012) and Rio de Janeiro (2016), and also attended GHEC 2018 in Russia and GHEC 2024 in Manchester. To gather and share with homeschoolers in Africa, she cofounded the African Home Education Exchange (AHEX), which has offered two conferences: Pretoria (2019) and Nairobi, Kenya (2023).

Dr. Danqing Yin is a researcher and practitioner in education. She is the founder and lead researcher of the Sunflower Education Institute, a nonprofit organization that supports 1,183 Chinese bilingual families in navigating home-learning resources and other educational services. Her research has been published by Teachers College Press, UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report, and ECNU Review of Education, among others. She holds a PhD in educational leadership and policy studies from the University of Kansas.