Richard A. Brake, Ph.D.

Dr. Richard Brake is the Headmaster of Saint Francis Classical Catholic Academy (SFCCA), a new independent PreK-8 Catholic school located in Bally, Pennsylvania on the campus of Most Blessed Sacrament parish.

Prior to joining Saint Francis, Dr. Brake served for four years as the Headmaster of St. Michael High School in Petoskey, Michigan, member of the Chesterton Network of Classical Schools. Earlier in his career, Brake was the president of the Institute for Family Studies, a non-profit think tank dedicated to strengthening marriage and family in America through research and public education; and vice-president for education at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, which teaches college students the founding political, economic, and moral principles of the country.

Brake holds an undergraduate degree in American history from Georgetown University, and graduate degrees in American politics from the University of Virginia and Temple University, where he taught political science for seven years. Earlier in his career, Dr. Brake worked as a legislative assistant in both the Pennsylvania and U.S. Houses of Representatives, and in 2006 he retired at the rank of Captain after serving ten years as an Ordnance Officer in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Brake also taught political science at Millersville and Shippensburg Universities in Pennsylvania, and Neumann and Rowan Universities in New Jersey.

His commentaries on American education and politics have appeared in such media outlets as C-SPAN, Newsweek, The New York Post, the Washington Examiner, Catholic Vote, and several Talk Radio programs, including the Laura Ingraham and Al Kresta shows. He was born and raised in Indiana, raised his family in the Philadelphia suburbs, and first became involved in the Classical Catholic education movement at Regina Luminis Academy in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, where he served for three years as the Dean of the High School and instructor in history and philosophy.