As an Open Society Fellow, Richard Cizik will organize and host gatherings of evangelical faith leaders, policy-makers, and academics to address key challenges facing the United States and the world. His work will focus on climate change, immigration, and criminal justice.

Rev. Cizik served for ten years as vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals, a post he left in 2008 after expressing conditional support for civil unions. He has been a leader in bringing evangelicals and scientists together in the search for common ground on climate change.

In 2002, Cizik was a participant in Climate Forum 2002, at Oxford, England, which produced the "Oxford Declaration" on global warming. He was instrumental in creating the Evangelical Climate Initiative, introduced in 2006. In 2005, the New York Times dubbed him the "Earthy Evangelist" for his advocacy on climate change, and in 2008 he was named to TIME Magazine's list of the "TIME 100" most influential people. In 2006, Fast Company placed him on its list of "Most Creative Minds."

Cizik has written over 100 articles and editorials and is the author and editor of The High Cost of Indifference (Regal Books). He contributed to the landmark document "For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Engagement."

Washington, DC  |  July 2009 - June 2010