City FAVS: New York City

Stephen Barrows, Ph.D. joined the Acton Institute as Managing Director of Programs in summer of 2019. He came to the Acton Institute after serving as executive vice president, provost, and dean of faculty at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich. Prior to joining the faculty at Aquinas as an associate professor of economics, he served 21 years in the Air Force as an acquisition officer, an economics professor at the Air Force Academy, and a faculty mentor at the National Military Academy of Afghanistan. His research interests include population economics and the economics of Catholic social teaching.

Ismael Hernandez is the founder and executive director of the Freedom & Virtue Institute. Ismael grew up in a communist household and joined the Socialist Party of Puerto Rico. Eventually, he surrendered Marxism and embraced free markets. He has a master’s Degree in Political Science and served for 15 years in an inner-city Catholic ministry in SW Florida. In 2016, Ismael wrote his first book, Not Tragically Colored: Freedom, Personhood, and the Renewal of Black America—published by the Acton Institute. Ismael Hernandez currently lives in Fort Myers with his wife and three children.

Ronjour Locke serves as Instructor of Preaching and Urban Ministry at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also serves as an affiliate pastor for the Acton Institute. Previously, he served in Baltimore as pastor of First Baptist Church of Brooklyn and as a member of the Christian Life and Public Affairs Committee of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware. He holds degrees from Lancaster Bible College and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Prof. Locke is happily married to Anne, and they have four children.

James M. Patterson, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of politics at Ave Maria University. He received his B.A. in Political Science and Media Studies at the University of Houston in 2002 and his Ph.D. in American Politics from the University of Virginia in 2012. His areas of research include race, religion, and American political development. He has held research positions at the Program for American Values and Institutions at Duke University and the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, as well as teaching positions at Hampden-Sydney College and Gettysburg College.

Rev. Robert A. Sirico is the president and co-founder of the Acton Institute and pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus parish in Grand Rapids, Mich. His writings on religious, political, economic, and social matters are published in a variety of journals, including: the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the London Financial Times, the Washington Times, the Detroit News, and National Review. Rev. Sirico is often called upon by members of the broadcast media for statements regarding economics, civil rights, and issues of religious concern, and has provided commentary for CNN, ABC, the BBC, NPR, and CBS' 60 Minutes, among others. In his popular book, Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy, Rev. Sirico shows how a free economy is the best way to meet society’s material needs. Rev. Sirico holds dual Italian and American citizenship.