Alan J. Reinach, Esq. is a civil rights lawyer and Seventh-day Adventist minister who has served as President of the Church State Council, the education, advocacy and legal services ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the western United States, since 1994.
Reinach directs the education and advocacy programs of the Church State Council, primarily focused on the preservation of religious freedom for all peaceful people of faith, as well as preserving the separation of church and state.
Reinach also directs the legal services ministry of the Church State Council offering legal assistance to persons of all faiths complaining of religious discrimination in the workplace. His most notable achievement has been obtaining a 9-0 ruling from the Supreme Court in Groff v DeJoy, establishing vigorous protection for those needing religious accommodation in the workplace.
Reinach is a recognized leader in the legal community on issues of religion and the law and serves as co chair of the American Bar Association’s Religious Freedom committee, part of the ABA’s Civil Rights and Social Justice Section. He has also served for many years on the legislative committee of the California Employment Lawyers Association, working to advance workers’ rights.
Reinach is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Law in 1987, and of the State University of New York at New Paltz, with special honors in history, in 1984.
Stephen N. Allred serves as Director of Government Relations for the Church State Council. He is a licensed attorney and ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister. Steve served as a pastor in the Northern California Conference for over 14 years, including his time at seminary, and then practiced law for nearly a decade. He has written for several periodicals and is the author of the book Do Justice: The Case for Biblical Social Justice. Steve received a Master of Divinity from Andrews University in 2005 and a Juris Doctor from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 2012. Steve is married to his lovely wife, Cheri, an ophthalmologist, with whom he has three wonderful children. Most of all, Steve is passionate about uplifting Jesus, doing justice, loving mercy, and promoting liberty of conscience.
William Davis is Associate Director of the Church State Council. He is an ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister, and an advocate for persons with disabilities. Pastor Davis is bilingual and bicultural, and assists Spanish speaking persons seeking the Council’s assistance. Pastor Davis also works as a Chaplain for the Church State Council offering a listening ear and prayerful heart for our clients as they go through this difficult time.
Jonathon Cherne is the Vice President of the Church State Council, where he directs the ministry’s litigation efforts together with the Council’s president, Alan Reinach. Mr. Cherne’s legal practice focuses on religious discrimination in employment and First Amendment violations related to Religious Liberty. Mr. Cherne is licensed to practice law in California and Tennessee, the United States Supreme Court, and many federal district courts. He has served as lead trial counsel and argued many cases in courts across the country. Most notably, Mr. Cherne served as co-counsel in Groff v. DeJoy, a United States Supreme Court landmark case that overturned the “de minimis cost” standard under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Mr. Cherne is also a frequent speaker on Religious Liberty and has published multiple articles as well. In 2009, Mr. Cherne served as the Research Assistant to former United States Solicitor General and Dean of the Pepperdine School of Law, Kenneth Starr. He is also a Certified Public Accountant and currently holds that license in inactive status.
Patrick Dillon
Staff Attorney
Naomi Eshoo serves as a Legal Extern at the Church State Council. Mrs. Eshoo started her journey with Church State Council in 2018 as a Paralegal, Mrs. Eshoo is a 2023 graduate of MitchellHamline Law School in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz earning her B.A. in Linguistics.
Mrs. Eshoo is deeply invested in upholding religious freedom after her grandfather Isaac and some of his Christian Assyrian family narrowly escaped the religious massacres in their home Urmia, Persia in what became known as the Armenian genocide. Mrs. Eshoo’s great uncle, Rev. E.O. Eshoo, who had been preaching in Persia, was asked upon his return whether he would be raising money to build more churches. He replied: “No I am not. We do not need churches any more in Persia, for we have no Christians there anymore. They have all been killed.”
Mrs. Eshoo also serves her community by coaching gymnastics for the local city recreation department and loves teaching Armenian line dancing. She is married to Jehf, an audio engineer, and together they are raising their daughter.
Loritha McDuffie
Adminisrative Assistant
Natalie Eva
Legislative Assistant