Berkley Center

Kevin Davis has been the police commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department since October 19, 2015 after serving as the interim police commissioner and deputy commissioner of the Investigations & Intelligence Bureau. Prior to coming to Baltimore, Davis served as the chief of the Anne Arundel County Police Department, and retired as the second-in-command of the Prince George’s County Police Department after 21 years of service. Davis earned his bachelor’s degree in English from Towson University and received his master’s degree in management from Johns Hopkins University. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and FBI National Executive Institute; David is a regularly featured speaker at the FBI National Academy and International Association of Chiefs of Police training events.

Byron Johnson is the founding director of the Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR) and Distinguished Professor of Social Sciences at Baylor University. Johnson is a leading authority on the scientific study of religion, the efficacy of faith-based organizations, and criminal justice. Johnson previously directed research centers at Vanderbilt University and the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of, among others, The Quest for Purpose: The Collegiate Search for a Meaningful Life (2017, with Perry L. Glanzer and Jonathan P. Hill), The Angola Prison Seminary (2016, with Michael Hallett, Joshua Hays, Sung Jang, and Grant Duwe), and More God, Less Crime: Why Faith Matters and How It Could Matter More (2011). In 2012 and 2013, Johnson served as a member of the steering committee for the Christianity and Freedom Project headed by the Berkley Center's Religious Freedom Project (RFP); ISR was a strategic RFP partner. He was also a senior research fellow of the Berkley Center's Religious Freedom Research Project from 2017 to 2018.

William Lori is the Roman Catholic archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore (since March 2012) and an active voice in the American Catholic Church, in particular on pro-life and doctrinal issues. Since 2011 Lori has led the American bishops' response to controversial issues such as government contraception mandates and gay marriage, by framing his arguments as religious liberty concerns. He currently serves as the Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus and on the board of trustees of the Catholic University of America and Sacred Heart University. Previously, he has served as bishop of Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he helped draft and implement new policies in response to the clergy sexual abuse scandal. Ordained a priest in 1977, he holds a Doctorate of Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of America.

Sheridan Todd Yeary is the senior pastor of Douglas Memorial Community Church (DMCC) in Baltimore, Maryland, and serves as the chief executive officer of DMCC’s two community development corporations: Camp Farthest Out, Inc. and Douglas Village, Inc. Yeary also holds an adjunct faculty appointment in the University of Baltimore's College of Public Affairs, teaching courses that explore faith and public policy and the legal construction of race. Yeary is the former associate director of the Center for Black Studies at Northern Illinois University. Yeary is often provides commentary, public testimony, and insight on a variety of public policy and leadership concerns, and he has presented in a variety of forums. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in management from National-Louis University, his M.Div. from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminar, as well as both a graduate certificate in African studies and a Ph.D. in religion in society from Northwestern University.