
I grew up on a cattle ranch in Napa California. We moved north to a smaller ranch near Chico (about 2 hours north of Sacramento) just before high school. After high school I went to California State University, Chico and then on to grad school in Berkeley transferring to Yale Divinity School in 1979. I went on to get my doctorate in philosophy from the University of Oxford (1992), working with a wonderful tutor, Rom Harré, on a thesis entitled, Realism, Inductive Reasoning and the Religious Use of Language. Early on I published an article in Philosophical Investigations, "Simplicity, Prior Probability and Inductive Arguments for Theism," but have not published much since then, preferring to use my training in what is now called "Public Philosophy," by the American Philosophical Association. From 2001 through 2010 I was the director of the Pacific Institute for Ethics & Social Policy. The work we did through the Institute can be found by scrolling down to the section on Institute Programming in my Curriculum Vitae.
I have two children, Paul (16) and Dascha (23). Paul is thriving in his second year at Forest Grove High School and plays a mean saxophone. Dascha is attending Pacific University, living just a few blocks away with two students from Vietnam who share her program goals in International Business. I am married to a truly remarkable woman, Alejandra Huerta; the most thoughtful hard working person I have ever met. She is a molecular biologist but also has a keen interest in bioethics. She has established two bioethics programs in Mexico, the latest in Puebla. My father, a World War II veteran died here in our home February 22nd, 2014 at the age of 91. Here is a short obituary: Harold Leonard Todd.
Link to a slideshow of our family put together for friends and family at our wedding New Year's Eve, 2016
This is the link with information about our wedding. WEDDING
Our New Zealand Story (password protected - contact me for permission)
I have two children, Paul (16) and Dascha (23). Paul is thriving in his second year at Forest Grove High School and plays a mean saxophone. Dascha is attending Pacific University, living just a few blocks away with two students from Vietnam who share her program goals in International Business. I am married to a truly remarkable woman, Alejandra Huerta; the most thoughtful hard working person I have ever met. She is a molecular biologist but also has a keen interest in bioethics. She has established two bioethics programs in Mexico, the latest in Puebla. My father, a World War II veteran died here in our home February 22nd, 2014 at the age of 91. Here is a short obituary: Harold Leonard Todd.
Link to a slideshow of our family put together for friends and family at our wedding New Year's Eve, 2016
This is the link with information about our wedding. WEDDING
Our New Zealand Story (password protected - contact me for permission)