Alexia Kelley

From 1994 to 2002, Kelley worked for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the U.S. Catholic Church's poverty-reduction program. She worked first in communications and then in resource development.

She spent time on welfare-to-work programs and helped establish childcare cooperatives to enable low-income mothers go back to work.

Kelley joined the Democratic National Committee as a consultant on religious outreach for the final six weeks of the 2004 presidential election.. She hit the ground running, reaching out to religious communities on behalf of that year's Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. John F. Kerry's (D-Mass.). She created the web site, www.KerrySharesOurValues.org.

Kerry lost the November 2004 election, and in 2005 Kelley co-edited the book, with Dr. Kathleen Maas Weigert, entitled "Living the Catholic Social Tradition," a collection of case studies and essays.

In 2008, Kelley co-authored with Chris Korzen the book "A Nation For All: How the Catholic Vision of the Common Good Can Save America from the Politics of Division."

Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good

In July 2005, Kelley co-founded Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good , which promotes Catholic social teaching related to issues in the public square and encourages engagement on varied social justice issues. Though the group is nonpartisan, the group uses grassroots and media outreach to advocate liberal Catholic stances on labor, health care, poverty reduction, immigration reform and what it calls "a consistent ethic of life."

Nomination to Office of Faith-based and Community Partnerships

In June 2009, President Obama appointed Kelley to head HHS's Office of Faith-based and Community Partnerships, one of 11 satellites faith offices that report to the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Partnerships.

Show less