Richard Wood serves as Professor of Sociology at the University of New Mexico, focusing on the cultural and institutional bases of democratic life, especially those linked to faith communities. His early work studied community organizing in low-income neighborhoods, culminating in Faith in Action (University of Chicago Press, 2002). He has published a variety of scholarly articles and public intellectual work on religion and democracy, diversity and racial equity in political organizations, and Catholic reform efforts. His recent book, A Shared Future: Faith-Based Organizing for Racial Equity and Ethical Democracy (coauthored with Brad R. Fulton, University of Chicago Press, 2015) analyzes how a multiracial organization negotiates the tension between multiculturalist and universalist democratic traditions. Wood is currently finishing Faith and the Fire of Public Life, on the impact of civic engagement on faith communities. Wood serves as coeditor of Cambridge Studies of Social Theory, Religion, and Politics and on the national board of Faith in Action (formerly the PICO National Network). Wood previously served as senior vice provost and interim provost at UNM and advised the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.