Rev. Clete Kiley was chosen by The Faith & Politics Institute's board as the Institute's president in June 2006. As successor to Institute founder Rev. Doug Tanner, Rev. Kiley brings a bold and innovative vision to lead FPI for the next phase of its growth.

Prior to joining the Institute, Rev. Kiley was Executive Director, Secretariat for Priestly Life and Ministry for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. While there, Rev. Kiley was a member of the crisis management team assisting in the church's response to the sexual abuse crisis. He participated in the formulation of a national policy, helped to create the National Review Board and Office for Child and Youth protection, and served as consultant to the board. He also developed and coordinated training workshops for the bishops and key staff in the implementation of the policy.

Before joining the Conference of Bishops, Rev. Kiley was pastor of St. Agnes of Bohemia parish in Chicago and president of St. Joseph College Seminary. At St. Joseph, he developed and implemented a new strategic plan that led relocation of the school on the main campus of Loyola University.

Rev. Kiley also serves on the board of directors for a number of non-profit organizations including the S.O.S Children's Villages in Chicago, the Center for the Protection of Workers' Rights, the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, and as a member of the board of visitors for the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. He also sits on the Advisory Council of the St. John Vianney Center.

A native Chicago southsider, Rev. Kiley graduated from Loyola in 1970 and received a masters degree in divinity from the University of St. Mary of the Lake in 1974, a masters degree in applied spirituality from the University of San Francisco in 1980, and a doctorate in ministry from the University of St. Mary of the Lake in 1980.

Nelson Watkins came to The Faith & Politics staff as the Office Manager in December 2002 and became Program Coordinator in October 2007.

Born in Athens, Alabama and a 1987 graduate of Faulkner University in Florence, AL, Nelson brings a wide range of experiences to the Institute. In Alabama, he filled many roles for institutions as varied as the Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital and the State of Alabama. Nelson moved to Washington, DC in May 1998 to oversee the management and eventual sale of a multi-million dollar Georgetown estate.  In December 2007, Nelson was licensed to preach by Dr. H. Beecher Hicks of Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington, DC.