Bill Vendley, PhD, is passionate about collaboration among the world’s different religious traditions. Before joining Fetzer in November 2019, he served for 25 years as the Secretary-General of Religions for Peace, the world’s largest multi-religious organization. Bill served as an advisor to President Obama on the Multi-Religious Cooperation and International Affairs Task Force of the White House Faith-Based Council. He was also an advisor to the US State Department Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. Before his work in Religions for Peace, he was a professor and dean of a Roman Catholic graduate seminary. He studied Buddhism in Sri Lanka and practiced Zen meditation for five years in Japan. His graduate degrees are in systematic theology.  He is married to Yasuko Vendley, and they enjoy a cross-cultural multi-religious partnership aligned with Fetzer’s commitment to building a more loving world.