Brian Scarnecchia

D. Brian Scarnecchia, M.Div., J.D. is a Professor of Law at Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, where he teaches Jurisprudence (the Philosophy of Law), Catholic Social Thought & Law, Bioethics & Law, and Oil & Gas Law. He is the founding president of International Solidarity & Human Rights Institute (ISHRI), a non-governmental organization (NGO) in consultative status with the United Nations (UN) and the Organization of American States (OAS). He serves on the Board of Directors for the Society of Catholic Social Scientists (SCSS) and is their main representative at the United Nations. He is a founding member and an expert for the Catholic Inspired NGO Rome Forum that works in close association with Secretary of State of the Holy See (the Vatican) on human rights issues. He is the author of Bioethics, Law and Human Life Issues: A Catholic Perspective on Marriage, Family, Contraception, Abortion, Reproductive Technology, and Death and Dying and co-author of The Millennium Development Goals in Light of Catholic Social Teaching and numerous scholarly and popular articles. He lectures nationally and internationally and provides media commentary on legal and political issues concerning human rights.

Before moving to Naples in 2009, Scarnecchia held the Human Life International Chair in Honor of Fr. Paul Marx at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio where, in addition, he was the Chair of the Department of Catholic Social Thought & Humanities, the Director of the Human Life Studies (Pro-Life) minor, and Director of the Legal Studies major. He also was an Assistant County Prosecutor for Jefferson County, Ohio. He and his wife, Victoria, have six married children and fifteen grandchildren. In his leisure Scarnecchia enjoys hiking, hunting, fishing, wine making, carpentry and reading a good novel.