Born, raised and educated in Lexington/Fayette County public schools, the Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper did her undergraduate work at Transylvania University, with majors in History and English, and minors in religion and education. She earned a Masters of Divinity from Yale University Divinity School ...
Read moreBorn, raised and educated in Lexington/Fayette County public schools, the Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper did her undergraduate work at Transylvania University, with majors in History and English, and minors in religion and education. She earned a Masters of Divinity from Yale University Divinity School and has been an active ordained minister for nearly 5 decadess, serving congregations in Connecticut; Virginia; Illinois; Missouri; and Ohio, before returning to Kentucky in 1991 to serve for 18 years as the Executive Director of the Kentucky Council of Churches. Her work with the KCC involved engaging 11 different Christian denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church, in dialogue about church-dividing theological and moral issues, and serving as their voice and advocate for the social justice issues on which they shared unanimity with the Kentucky state legislature. Simultaneously, she has served as the pastor of a small church in Woodford County since 1996, a position that she still holds. She has received numerous awards including the KCCJ Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2001; an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Transylvania University in 2001; the William Sloane Coffin Award for Peace and Justice from Yale University Divinity School in 2010; and most recently the L.L. Pinkerton Award for Visionary Leadership and providing a role model for women. She is the mother of 2 adult daughters, Lucinda and Kate and grandmother of Rebecca and Claire. In 2016, Rev. Kemper won the Democratic primary election with 80% of the votes to become the Democratic nominee for Kentucky’s 6th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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