Eric Layer

Eric Layer serves as executive vice president of enterprise strategy with Alliance Defending Freedom. In this role, he partners with the Executive Leadership Team to advance enterprise-wide alignment, strengthen strategic execution, and ensure the ministry’s priorities are effectively integrated across teams. He also oversees the Communications, Marketing, and Brand teams, helping to lead clear, coordinated messaging that advances ADF’s mission.

Layer brings two decades of experience in communications and strategic leadership across the public, nonprofit, and private sectors. Before joining ADF in March 2026, he served as a strategic advisor to CEOs and senior leaders across industries, including manufacturing, construction, healthcare, education, and advocacy, providing counsel on organizational strategy, growth, and communications.

Earlier in his career, Layer served on Capitol Hill as a press secretary and communications director, where he developed messaging strategy and managed media relations. He later served as vice president of membership and development for the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce. He went on to become a partner and vice president at McKee Wallwork, a globally recognized branding and strategy firm, where he helped lead business model transformation and drove double-digit growth during a period of significant industry disruption.

Layer holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in economics and a Master of Arts in politics, philosophy, and economics. He was also a Truman Scholar, a Rhodes Scholarship finalist, and a White House intern.

Layer and his wife, Shannon, reside in Virginia with their three children: James, Andrew, and Bonnie.