Fellows

Donald DeMarco, Ph.D., is a Senior Fellow of HLI America. He is Professor Emeritus at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ontario and adjunct professor at Holy Apostles College and Seminary. Dr. DeMarco is the author of 21 books,  several hundred articles in scholarly journals and in anthologies, and innumerable book reviews in a variety of publications. Read his full bio here.

Denise Hunnell, M.D., is a Fellow of HLI America. She is a family medicine practitioner, and a retired Air Force Major physician. She has written for local and national Catholic publications, as well as the Washington Post and the Washington Times. She also teaches anatomy and physiology at Northern Virginia Community College Woodbridge Campus. Read her full bio here.

Christopher J. Stravitsch is a Fellow of HLI America. He serves on the Formation Faculty at Assumption Seminary as Director of Collegians, and is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Converging Roads, a program that provides education to health care professional, catechists, educators, and clergy in the converging areas of bioethics, health care, and Catholic teaching. Read his full bio here.

Rebecca Oas, Ph.D., is a Fellow of HLI America. Dr. Oas graduated from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan with a BS in environmental biology and zoology. She earned her doctorate from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia in genetics and molecular biology, with an emphasis on vascular development and endothelial cell junctions. Read her full bio here.

Contributing Writers

Father John A. Leies is a Contributing Writer of HLI America. Fr. Leies, a Marianist priest, is past president, past academic vice-president, former Theology Department Chair, former Head of Campus Ministry, a tenured Professor of Theology and President Emeritus of St. Mary’s University of San Antonio, an institute at which he has spent 37continuous years. Read his full bio here.

Melanie Baker is a Contributing Writer of HLI America. Melanie holds an MA in Theology from the Dominican House of Studies and a BA in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America. Most recently she served as Executive Assistant and Research Assistant with the Culture of Life Foundation. Read her full bio here.

Brendan Dudley is a Contributing Writer for HLI America. As a speaker on chastity and the Theology of the Body, Brendan is passionate about promoting the beauty and joy that come from a life of self-gift. His academic studies have focused on sexual ethics, the New Evangelization, and the connection between law & morality. Read his full bio here.

Scott Lloyd, J.D., is a Contributing Writer of HLI America. Formerly an attorney for the US Department of Health and Human Services, his areas of work include health law and policy, conscience rights, family law, and communications law. Read his full bio here.


Monica Rafie is a Contributing Writer of HLI America. Monica has extensive experience in crisis pregnancy counseling, and now works primarily in the area of providing support to parents after a poor or difficult prenatal diagnosis through the online outreach she founded, Be Not Afraid Ministry (www.benotafraid.net), which operates across the country. Read her full bio here.