The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops (FCCB) recently announced the hiring of Michael T. Barrett as a staff associate for education. 

Barrett will be in charge of handling professional resources for the FCCB’s education duties, coordinating and advocating for issues facing Catholic schools in the state of Florida and working with the United States Conference of the Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on a federal scale. Barrett will also be responsible for working with a number of school-choice organizations and groups with special needs. 

Barrett taught mathematics at Jean Ribault High School in Jacksonville from 2011 to 2014, was a member of Teach for America's Jacksonville Corps in 2011 and coached a number of varsity sports as well as being the math department chair during the 2013-2014 academic year. 

Michael T. Barrett | https://flaccb.org/

Barrett, an attorney, also became skilled in matters of complex civil litigation, administrative law and appellate law while at Vezina, Lawrence and Piscitelli, P.A. While in law school, he interned under the Hon. William J. Zloch of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. 

Barrett worked in the area of campus ministry at the Northeastern University Catholic Center from 2010-2011. 

FCCB Executive Director Michael B. Sheedy expressed his pleasure at Barrett’s addition to the conference. 

“We are very pleased that Mike has joined the team here at the conference,” Sheedy said. “His experience as an educator and his legal background will serve us well as he advocates for a strong education system and for parental choice in it.”

Barrett and his wife, who recently had their first child, live in Tallahassee and attend the Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More.