Russell Hittinger, Ph.D.

Russell Hittinger, a leading scholar of Catholic political and social thought, serves as the Executive Director of the IHE. He is a Research Professor Ordinarius in The Catholic University of America’s School of Philosophy and a member of the Pontifical Academy of Saint Thomas Aquinas, where he served on the consilium from 2006-2018. He co-directs the IHE’s Program on Catholic Political Thought and delivered the Program’s inaugural lecture, “How to Inherit a Kingdom: Reflections on the Situation of Catholic Political Thought,” in 2022.

From 1996-2019, Dr. Hittinger was the incumbent of the William K. Warren Chair of Catholic Studies at the University of Tulsa, where he was also a Research Professor in the School of Law. He has taught at the University of Chicago, the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Fordham University, Princeton University, New York University, Providence College, and Charles University in Prague. In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Dr. Hittinger for a ten-year term as an ordinarius in the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. 

In January 2020, Dr. Hittinger delivered the Aquinas Lecture at Blackfriars, Oxford. The American Catholic Philosophical Association awarded him the Aquinas Medal in November 2023.

Dr. Hittinger’s books and articles have been published by the University of Notre Dame Press, Oxford University Press, Columbia University Press, and Fordham University Press, and have appeared in the Review of Metaphysics, the Journal of Law and Religion, the Review of Politics. He has work forthcoming with Catholic University of America Press.

Stephen P. Higgins, J.D.

For more than two decades, Stephen Higgins devoted his life to public service. As a Legislative Director and Chief Counsel in the United States Senate, he was a legislative, legal, and policy strategist. Stephen worked with Members of Congress, congressional staff, executive branch officials, interest groups, think tanks, and constituents to build bipartisan coalitions and negotiate complex legislation. On a daily basis, he served as a liaison to Senate and House offices, the White House, advocacy groups, and other stakeholders.

Aramis L. Perez

Aramis L. Perez serves as the Director of Student Programs at the Institute for Human Ecology. His experience prior to joining the IHE includes managing communities, communications, and education for businesses and non-profit organizations. He is a lifelong learner with a strong interest in Catholic social and political thought, as well as an affinity for culture and the arts. Originally from Miami, Aramis holds an AB in Government from Harvard and is a Professional Fellow to the Abigail Adams Institute in Cambridge.

William L. Saunders, J.D.

William L. Saunders, J.D., is a graduate of Harvard Law School and has been involved in issues of public policy, law, and ethics for thirty years. A regular columnist for the National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, Mr. Saunders has written widely on these topics, as well as on Catholic social teaching. He has lectured in law schools and colleges throughout the United States and the world. Mr. Saunders’ latest book, Unborn Human Life and Fundamental Rights: Leading Constitutional Cases Under Scrutiny, was published in 2019. He is the Director of the Program in Human Rights at the IHE, which includes the MA in Human Rights. He is also the Director of the Center for Human Rights, where he works closely with Distinguished Fellow, Chen Guangcheng.

Caroline O’Callaghan

Caroline O’Callaghan serves as the Program Manager for the Institute for Human Ecology. Originally from Indiana, she studied theology, studio art, and the Irish language at the University of Notre Dame. Her interests include education, disability, and transcendent beauty. Before joining the IHE, she taught in a Montessori school, coordinated weddings at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and worked as a research assistant.

Megan Witt, M.A.

 Megan Witt serves as the Student Program Specialist at the Institute for Human Ecology. She holds a bachelor’s degree from The Catholic University’s Busch School of Business and a Master of Arts in Human Rights from the Institute for Human Ecology, and was a recent fellow of The Tertio Millennio Seminar on the Free Society. She has worked on issues related to human rights and the common good in business, and has researched the relationship between transcendence and human flourishing. Her academic and professional interests include children’s rights in the developing world, the family unit within political society, and human rights within the supply chain.

John Henry Hobgood

John Henry Hobgood holds a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, where he studied in the Program of Liberal Studies. His interests include the history of political thought (especially early-modern) and normative questions surrounding religion and politics.