Tom Head holds a Ph.D. in religion and society from Edith Cowan University, and a Master of Divinity from St. Joseph's College of Maine. He is author or coauthor of more than three dozen books, including World History 101 (Adams Media/Simon & Schuster), The Absolute Beginner's Guide to the Bible (Que/Pearson), Conversations with Jimmy Carter (University Press of Mississippi), and Civil Liberties: A Beginner's Guide (Oneworld). He has earned certifications from San Diego State University (grantwriting), the University of Wisconsin at Madison (online education), Auburn University (paralegal studies), CONTACT (crisis line management), and the Art of Resolution, LL.C. (EEO investigation). He also holds an M.A. in humanities from California State University, Dominguez Hills, and has taken graduate-level coursework from Mississippi College (counseling psychology) and Spring Hill College (theological studies).

For nearly a decade (2006-2015), he served as About.com's guide to civil liberties and maintained the world's largest and most comprehensive online civil liberties portal. He has written scripts for six YouTube videos on philosophy and pop culture for Wisecrack, LL.C., totaling more than 8 million views. He has served on the boards of numerous nonprofits, including the Mississippi ACLU, the Mississippi branch and Jackson chapters of the National Organization for Women (NOW), the central Mississippi branch of the Mississippi Poetry Society (NFSPS), PFLAG, and Parents for Public Schools of Jackson. An active Roman Catholic, he is currently an aspirant at his local chapter of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCDS) and an active third-degree member of the Knights of Peter Claver, Fr. Lawrence Watts Council 199. 

Tom has been honored many times for his work, including but not limited to certificates of appreciation from the Mississippi ACLU, the Mississippi NAACP, and Luciérnagas, a second-place 2012 AltWeekly Award from the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) for his public policy analysis in the Jackson Free Press, numerous regional poetry awards, and positive published reviews. Tom lives in Jackson, Mississippi with his wife Deirdre, where he works as a healthcare chaplain.

(Portrait by Sarah Herrick / Rhyme and Ruin Arts.)