Patrick M. Brenner is the Founder and President of the Southwest Public Policy Institute, a research institute dedicated to improving the quality of life in the American Southwest by formulating, promoting, and defending sound public policy solutions.
Before launching SPPI, Patrick worked in public relations and marketing, then took charge of the donor engagement and government transparency litigation programs at the Rio Grande Foundation as the Vice President of Development. Patrick’s experience, advocacy for transparency, and desperate longing for accountable government have primed him for leading the American Southwest’s state-of-the-art think tank, where he empowers liberty through a data- and technology-fueled grassroots movement.
Patrick is the author of numerous policy studies. He has appeared in newspapers and on radio and television throughout the nation, including MSN, Fox News, Fox Business, AOL, The Washington Times, The Hill, National Review, Yahoo, The Daily Caller, Newsmax, Albuquerque Journal, Deseret News, The Daily Signal, The Federalist, American Banker, Las Cruces Sun-News, The Center Square, Santa Fe New Mexican, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, RealClear Policy, RealClear Markets, The Deming Headlight, and more.
Patrick helps instill American principles in his generation through his activism, is a member of the Knights of Columbus, and is a sitting board member of the Wilberforce Institute, a public policy think tank dedicated to advancing the recognition of the inherent value and dignity of life, promoting a market free from corrupt, collusive, and coercive government intrusion, and advocating for policies that benefit both human and animal interests. Patrick lives in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, with his wife Molly and their children, Charlotte, Marie, and David. He is a pilot, avid cyclist, amateur historian, ballroom dancer, and former aquarist. The family enjoys frequent trips to historic sites across the American Southwest.

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The Latest from Patrick
- SPPI Joins National Coalition Calling for Accountability in the Non-Profit Hospital Sector“Large nonprofit hospital systems have exploited taxpayer subsidies and regulatory loopholes while failing to deliver the public benefit they promise.”
- The Southwest Public Policy Institute Proudly Presents: The Economic Dunce AwardFor exceptional achievement in ignoring market realities and promoting policies that backfire spectacularly.
- Unlicensed, Unregulated, Unpunished: Still No Justice in Tara Jaramillo’s Predatory Lending SchemeTara Jaramillo’s payday lending scheme didn’t happen despite New Mexico’s interest rate cap: it happened because of it, with a little help from Fred Nathan and the price-fixing crusaders at Think New Mexico.
- ‘Black Market Payday’ Makes Headlines: Unlicensed Lending by Tara JaramilloPrice controls like New Mexico’s 36% APR cap have driven vulnerable workers into the hands of unlicensed lenders.
- Report: Black Market PaydayHow government price controls created an illicit supply of emergency credit.