John Carr holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Thomas and an honorary doctor of law degree from Barry College and has been honored by the University of St. Thomas, which gave him its John A. Ryan Award, and Crosier Seminary, which named him an outstanding alumnus. He was Director of the White House Conference on Families in 1979-80, Director of the National Committee for Full Employment in the late 70s, and Secretary for Social Concerns of the Archdiocese of Washington in the 1990s. He has written on Catholics and political responsibility, housing and mediating structures and has spoken on Catholic social mission and public life and policy. He has represented the USCCB at the Vatican, in Northern Ireland, South Africa, Central America, Eastern Europe, Russia, Vietnam and the Middle East. He is married and the father of four children.