Parental Rights Foundation Board of Directors

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Ethan Demme (Board Member and Treasurer)

Ethan Demme is the President and CEO of Demme Learning, as well as an elected member of the board of supervisors in East Lampeter Township (Pennsylvania).

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Allison Folmar, J.D. (Board Member)

Civil rights attorney Allison Folmar garnered international attention as she passionately fought numerous charges brought against Michigan mother Maryanne Godboldo.

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Civil rights attorney Allison Folmar garnered international attention as she passionately fought numerous charges brought against her client, Michigan mother Maryanne Godboldo. Folmar, who holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Wayne State University and a Juris Doctorate from Thomas Cooley Law School, stood for Godboldo’s right to choose the course of medical treatment for her daughter and fiercely challenged the state’s medical kidnapping of Ariana.

Folmar won a 10-month legal battle against the Michigan Attorney General and state prosecutors on behalf of a parent’s fundamental constitutional right to choose the course of medical treatment for their child. Her zealous advocacy also changed Michigan state law, making it illegal for CPS to intervene simply on the basis that parents choose not to administer certain mind-altering drugs to their child.

She has assisted in writing federal legislation to protect parental rights, and she has won cases similar to the Godboldo case for numerous families across the country.

In addition to her private practice, Folmar travels the country enthusiastically lecturing attorneys, legislators, and parents on the constitutional aspects of parental rights.

Allison lives with her teen-aged daughter in her home town of Detroit.

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Dr. Stephen M. Krason, Ph.D. (Board Member)

Dr. Stephen M. Krason is Professor of Political Science and Legal Studies and Director of the Political Science Program at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He has authored and edited numerous books and volumes.

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Dr. Stephen M. Krason is Professor of Political Science and Legal Studies and Director of the Political Science Program at Franciscan University of Steubenville where he has been on the faculty since 1986. He is the co-founder and President of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists, and publisher of the society’s scholarly journal, The Catholic Social Science Review. He also serves on the Board of Advisors of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. A lawyer and scholar, Dr. Krason did his law and Ph.D. studies at the State University of New York in Buffalo. He has received several research grants, and in the 2008-09 academic year he was a visiting fellow in residence at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, N.J.

Dr. Krason has authored and edited numerous books and volumes including Abortion: Politics, Morality, and the Constitution; The Public Order and the Sacred Order: Contemporary Problems, Catholic Social Teaching, and the Western and American Traditions; The Recovery of American Education: Reclaiming a Vision; Defending the Family: A Sourcebook; and Parental Rights: The Contemporary Assault on Traditional Liberties. He has also published several articles on false child abuse reporting and the threat to parental rights of the child protective system. In 1999, he co-authored an amicus curiae brief in Troxel v. Granville, a major parental rights case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Dr. Krason and his wife, Therese, have four children and live in the Steubenville, Ohio, area.

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James Mason, J.D. (Chairman of the Board)

Jim Mason serves as the Chairman of the Board for the Parental Rights Foundation while serving as President at the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA).

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James Mason serves as Chairman of the Board for the Parental Rights Foundation while serving as President at the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). Mason has defended homeschoolers from truant officers, school superintendents, and social workers in courts and administrative tribunals all over the country. He obtained his undergraduate degree at Oregon State University and his law degree at Regent University.

James served on the board of the Parental Rights Foundation from its inception until January 2017, when he was elected president of the organization. He stepped down as president of the Parental Rights Foundation in November 2021.

James is a veteran of the United States Navy and served in Operation Desert Storm. He and his wife, Debbie, have homeschooled all of their seven children. They live in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

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Grover Norquist, M.B.A. (Board Member)

For more than two decades, Grover Norquist has been one of DC’s most effective issues-management strategists.

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Grover Norquist is the president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), a coalition of taxpayer groups, individuals, and businesses opposed to higher taxes at the federal, state, and local levels. A native of Massachusetts, Norquist has been one of DC’s most effective issues-management strategists for more than two decades. He also serves on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association of America and of the American Conservative Union, and is president of the American Society of Competitiveness. Norquist is a Contributing Editor to the American Spectator Magazine, and authored the book Leave Us Alone: Getting the Government’s Hands Off Our Money, Our Guns, Our Lives (published in 2008).

Prior to working with ATR, Norquist served as a commissioner on the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce and on the National Commission on Restructuring the Internal Revenue Service. He was an economist and chief speech-writer with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and also the executive director of the National Taxpayers’ Union.

Norquist holds a Masters of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, both from Harvard University. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, Samah, and his daughters, Grace and Giselle.

Michael Ramey, M.Div. (President)

Michael Ramey has been the President of the Parental Rights Foundation since June 2023.

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Michael Ramey has been the President of the Parental Rights Foundation since June 2023. Previously he served as the Executive Director. He holds a B.A. in Foreign Language (Spanish) from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master of Divinity with Biblical Languages from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Ramey honed his communication skills through 13 years of church ministry before joining the staff of Parental Rights Foundation. Michael lives in Winchester, Virginia, with his wife, Rachel, and five beautiful children.

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Dr. Rodger Sayre, M.D. (Board Member)

Rodger Sayre, M.D., FAAFP, has a busy family practice and is also a school physician. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Family Medicine and member of the American College of Sports Medicine.

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Rodger Sayre, M.D., FAAFP, has a busy family practice in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, as an associate with the Geisinger Medical Group. He is also involved in sports-related health issues, and is the school physician for the Tunkhannock Area School District.

Dr. Sayre is a Diplomat of the American Board of Family Medicine and member of the American College of Sports Medicine. He also serves on the board of Home School Legal Defense Association.

Dr. Sayre received his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University in 1983, and completed his residency with Williamsport Hospital and Medical Center in 1986. He and his wife, Mary, have eleven children and reside in Pennsylvania.

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Paul A. Suarez, M.D. (Board Member)

Paul A. Suarez, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon and a father to seven—four biologically and three through international adoption from China.

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Vickie Suarez (Board Member)

Vickie served as the volunteer Pennsylvania State Coordinator for ParentalRights.org for eight years (and continues to serve in that capacity) before joining the board in 2018.

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Vickie Suarez, wife of Paul, is a Christian homeschooling mother to her seven children, four biological and three adopted from China. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in nursing from the Thomas Jefferson School of Baccalaureate Nursing in Philadelphia, and she worked in neonatal intensive care at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Vickie served as the volunteer Pennsylvania State Coordinator for ParentalRights.org for eight years (and continues to serve in that capacity) before joining the board in 2018.

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Jim Sullivan (Board Member and Secretary)

Jim Sullivan owns a consulting firm that provides education, consultation, and opportunities within the financial arena. He advises business owners throughout the United States.

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Jim Sullivan owns a consulting firm that provides education, consultation, and opportunities within the financial arena. He advises business owners throughout the United States. He also actively advocates for tax policies that promote environmentally sustainable growth for America’s economy. In addition to his business career, his extensive ministry experience includes leading several churches and faith-based organizations.

He and his wife have served as State Coordinators for Parental Rights in Florida since 2012. Their hard work and dedication in educating legislators and cultivating a statewide grassroots parents movement resulted in the 2021 passage of a whole new chapter of Florida law called “The Parents' Bill of Rights.” Their efforts further contributed to setting the groundwork for the Florida “Parental Rights in Education Act” to pass in 2022.

He resides in FL with his wife, Patti. They have been married for 34 years; their beautiful miracle daughter was born at the 17-year mark.

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Patti Sullivan (Board Member)

Patti Sullivan has worked in organizational management, consulting, and leadership development for thirty-five years.

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Patti Sullivan has worked in organizational management, consulting, and leadership development for thirty-five years.

Most recently, she served a four-year term (2012-2016) as president of a county-wide homeschooling community in Florida. The all-volunteer organization grew from 70+ families to 220+ families within the first two years of her leadership initiatives.

Patti and her husband, Jim, have served as State Coordinators for Parental Rights in Florida since 2012. Their hard work and dedication in educating legislators and cultivating a statewide grassroots parents movement resulted in the 2021 passage of a whole new chapter of Florida law called “The Parents' Bill of Rights.”

Patti continues to serve as a valuable resource within the parental rights movement for local, state, and national organizations. She provides parents and citizens with an understanding of the parental rights issue and processing through the legislative process.

Patti has been married to Jim for thirty-four years. Their beautiful miracle daughter was born at the seventeen-year mark of their marriage.

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William Wagner (Board Member and Vice President)

William Wagner is a distinguished Professor Emeritus of Law at the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, and president of Salt and Light Global.

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William holds the academic rank of Distinguished Professor Emeritus after many years of teaching constitutional law, advance appellate advocacy, and ethics at two universities. He currently holds the WFFC Distinguished Chair for faith and freedom at Spring Arbor University Foundation. William is also the founder and President Emeritus of Salt & Light Global. He is an internationally recognized expert in constitutional law and good governance. As counsel in numerous matters before the U.S. Supreme Court, he authored briefs on behalf of various national Christian organizations. He also authored written testimony, evidence, and briefs in such forums as the Swedish Supreme Court, the U.S. Congress, and the U.K. Parliament. He has further addressed many executive, legislative, parliamentary, and judicial audiences throughout the world, and presented at various diplomatic forums including the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Professor Wagner’s public service includes serving as a federal judge in the United States Courts, legal counsel in the U.S. Senate and Chief Counsel of the Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee. He also served as Senior Assistant United States attorney in the Department of Justice, and as an American diplomat and Senior Advisor for Global Criminal Justice at the U.S. Department of State. His writing is published in numerous journals, books, and other publications.