Faculty

Daron O. Djerdjian
Founder, President, & Faculty
Dr. Daron Djerdjian earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Syracuse University, specializing in International Trade Theory and Political Economy. Professor Djerdjian has taught at the American University of Sharjah (UAE), Occidental College; and UCLA.
He is the progenitor of the concept of praxeonomic order, where social norms emerge and evolve in the market.
David D. Friedman
Affiliated Faculty
Dr. David Friedman's intellectual pursuits have significantly shaped contemporary thinking in economics, jurisprudence, and political philosophy. He serves as Professor Emeritus at Santa Clara University School of Law, having previously held teaching positions at several institutions, including the University of Chicago and UCLA.
David Gordon
Affiliated Faculty
Dr. David Gordon earned his Ph.D. in intellectual history from UCLA and serves as a senior fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Gordon’s research elucidates the ethical and philosophical divergences between Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard, advancing our understanding of their contributions.
Walter Block
Affiliated Faculty
Dr. Walter E. Block's work has profoundly shaped Austrian economics, libertarian political philosophy, and the theory of voluntary institutions. He serves as the Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Economics at Loyola University New Orleans.
Mark Skousen
Affiliated Faculty
Dr. Mark Skousen is an esteemed economist and author, serving as the Doti-Spogli Chair in Free Enterprise at Chapman University’s Argyros School of Business and Economics. Skousen has made impactful contributions through his writings and as the founder of FreedomFest.
Per Bylund
Affiliated Faculty
Dr. Per Bylund is the Johnny D. Pope Chair and Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Mises Institute. He incorporates his entrepreneurial background into his teaching and research in economics.
Robert Murphy
Affiliated Faculty
Dr. Robert P. Murphy serves as a Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute and the Mises Institute, and is the Chief Economist at Infineo. Dr. Murphy earned his Ph.D. in economics from New York University. His academic career includes positions at Hillsdale College and Texas Tech University’s Free Market Institute.
Matthew J. Geiger
Faculty & Media Coordinator
Matthew is a dedicated scholar at the Carl Menger Institute for Market Economics. He is pursuing his Ph.D. in Economics at Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid, Spain, under the guidance of Professor Philipp Bagus. Matthew's work has been published in the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics(26/1).
Thaddeus Russell
Affiliated Faculty
Dr. Thaddeus Russell is a maverick historian, holds a Ph.D. in History from Columbia University and has taught at Barnard College, Columbia University, and The New School. He is the Founder of the Unregistered Academy and host of the Unregistered podcast.
Mark Thornton
Affiliated Faculty
Dr. Mark Thornton is a Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute and a leading scholar of the Austrian School. He has taught at Auburn University, Columbus State University, and Trinity University, and served as Assistant Superintendent of Banking and economic adviser to the Governor of Alabama. Thornton holds a Ph.D. in economics from Auburn University.
Łukasz Dominiak
Affiliated Faculty
Łukasz Dominiak is Associate Professor of Political Philosophy at Nicolaus Copernicus University and a Fellow of the Mises Institute. His research clarifies the foundations of property rights in the Austrian and libertarian tradition. Dr. Dominiak holds a Ph.D. and habilitation in political philosophy.
Michael Huemer
Affiliated Faculty
Dr. Michael Huemer is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado Boulder. He earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from Rutgers University. Dr. Huemer's areas of expertise include epistemology, ethics, metaethics, and political philosophy.
Elena Leontjeva
Invited Speaker
Elena Leontjeva is Co-founder and President of the Lithuanian Free market Insitute, where she built the legal and institutional foundations for Lithuania's post-Soviet economy and served as senior economic advisor to President Valdas Adamkus. She pioneers multidisciplinary research on the phenomenon of scarcity.
Chris Varelas
Invited Speaker
Chris Varelas is Co-Founding Partner at Riverwood Capital. Before founding Riverwood, he spent nearly 20 years at Salomon Brothers/Citi. He served as the Global Head of Technology, Media & Telecom Investment Banking. He is the author of How Money Became Dangerous.
Joyce Brand
Invited Speaker
Joyce Brand is an entrepreneur, author, and advances the concepts of voluntary governance and the evolution of market-based institutions. From her work at Ciudad Morazán in Honduras—a flagship Free City project—she advances practical models for societies grounded in entrepreneurial initiative.
Michael Malice
Invited Speaker
Michael Malice is an author, anarchist, and hosts the "YOUR WELCOME" podcast. His works include The White Pill, The Anarchist Handbook, The New Right, and Dear Reader: An Unauthorized Autobiography of Kim Jong Il.
Germinal G. Van
Invited Speaker
Germinal G. Van is an economist, political scientist. He is the founder of GGV Publishing Company and has authored over two dozen books, including A History of Wealth Distribution in the United States andThomas Sowell: A Misunderstood Economist.
Ethan Akimoto
Executive Director & Affiliated Faculty
Ethan has lectured on Popperian epistemology and the history of mathematical modeling in science and finance. His work posits that subjective value dissolves moral dogma, that property is simply the ability to use, and that cooperation emerges from convergent individual interests. He guides the institutional development of the Carl Menger Institute.