Washington, DC – William F. Raskob, Chairman of the Board of Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities (FADICA), today announced that Alexia K. Kelley has been appointed the next president and CEO of the organization. She succeeds Dr. Francis J. Butler, who served as president for over three decades and retired earlier this year.
“Alexia has a distinguished record of leadership and service in the church, the nonprofit world and government. Her strong commitment to her faith, a history of enabling younger people to develop their leadership, and a keen understanding of the broad scope of the nation’s religious and charitable organizations will serve our network of grant makers well,” said Mr. Raskob.
Kelley brings a wealth of experience in various sectors to FADICA, including time at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), leading nonprofits, and serving in the White House’s Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
Contributing to the USCCB’s anti-poverty initiative, Kelley worked at the Catholic Campaign for Human Development from 1993 through 2002. She then joined the Environmental Resources Trust where she advocated for market-based solutions to renewable energy promotion and climate change mitigation, before co-founding Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, where she supported lay Catholic engagement on Catholic social teaching and related issues of human life and dignity, poverty, the environment, and peace.
“I look forward to working with FADICA members who are so committed to supporting and strengthening the Church and making positive impact in society, particularly through serving the most vulnerable. Their generosity has long inspired me, and I am honored to join an organization that facilitates so much good.”
Most recently, Kelley served as a senior official in the White House’s Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships Initiative. She was senior policy advisor in the White House Office and Center Director at the US Department of Health and Human Services. She spearheaded partnerships with faith and community-based organizations to improve health and wellness in vulnerable communities, addressing issues of childhood obesity, vaccination access, mental health, and disaster response. At the White House Faith-based Office, Kelley also served as liaison to the State Department’s Religion and Foreign Policy working group initiative.
“I look forward to working with FADICA members who are so committed to supporting and strengthening the church and making a positive impact in society, particularly through serving the most vulnerable,” said Kelley. “Their generosity has long inspired me, and I am honored to join an organization that facilitates so much good.”
Dr. Butler joined Raskob in welcoming Kelley: “FADICA’s future is in superb hands with Alexia. Her history of faith-inspired service, the many networks she brings to the work of FADICA, her extensive experience in leadership development, and her abundant personal gifts will ensure a bright future for collaborative Catholic philanthropy. I am confident that under Alexia’s leadership, FADICA will thrive and inspire even greater contributions to the mission and ministries of the Catholic Church.”
Kelley is co-editor of Living the Catholic Social Tradition: Cases and Commentary with Dr. Kathleen Maas Weigert, and co-author of A Nation for All: How the Catholic Vision of the Common Good Can Save America from the Politics of Division with Chris Korzen.
Kelley earned a B.A. in religion with honors from Haverford College in 1989 and graduated from Harvard University in 1993 with a Masters of Theological Studies.
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FADICA is a network of private foundations and donors supporting Catholic-sponsored programs and institutions. Its mission is to enable its members to be informed, involved and effective in addressing church needs by their philanthropy. It accomplishes this mission through ongoing education, fostering the exchange of information and experience, commissioning research, building a spirit of fellowship and shared faith, facilitating occasional joint funding ventures, and promoting interaction with Catholic leadership.
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