Thomas McKenna is an anthropologist and a leading authority on the Moros, the indigenous Muslims of the Philippines. He has lived and worked for years in Moro communities and has spent decades writing and conducting research on their culture and history. He has published widely on the Moros, including a well-received book, Muslim Rulers and Rebels (1998, University of California Press) and a chapter in the Routledge Handbook on Political Islam (2020).

Tom has presented his work on the Moros at a wide range of scholarly institutions, including Oxford University, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and the Asia Society.

Tom has been interviewed about the Moros many times, for example, on CNN, NPR, Voice of America, USA Today, Boston Herald, and Knight-Ridder and was the featured speaker at a US State Department seminar devoted to his work.

He earned his PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of California at Davis.

Tom lives with his wife in San Francisco.