Richard L. Killmer

Rev. Richard Killmer – "a Presbyterian minister, is the Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture – an interfaith organization of over 220 religious organizations committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture. He was appointed to that position on May 7, 2007. Previously, he had served as the program director of the Churches Center for Theology and Public Policy located at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. He served there from June 2002 to May 2007. While in that position, he founded the Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light and co-founded the Muslim-Christian Initiative on the Nuclear Weapons Danger.

"From 1996 to May 2002, Mr. Killmer was the director of Environmental Justice and director of the Economic Justice and Domestic Hunger Program Ministry of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. He received Climate Protection award from the United States Environmental Protection Agency for his work while at the National Council of Churches. He had previously served the national headquarters of the Presbyterian Church (USA) directing the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program for 15 years, beginning with the designation of peacemaking as a priority emphasis in 1980.

"Mr. Killmer worked for the National Council of Churches previously from 1970-1980. During that period he directed the Special Ministries/Vietnam Generation, Domestic Hunger and Poverty, and co-directed the Child and Family Justice Project.

"He is a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College and has two degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary. He has also served as a Visiting Fellow at Princeton Theological Seminary from 1985-1988. Mr. Killmer has written many articles and resources for publication and co-authored two books.

"He and his wife, Dr. Margaret Killmer, are the parents of four daughters and have seven grandchildren."