Richard Nelson is the founder and Executive Director of the Commonwealth Policy Center. He’s served on numerous boards including the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education Hopkinsville Community College Board (chair 2020-2021), Kentucky Council on Environmental Education, Pennyrile Christian Community Board (chair 2018-2021), and Trigg County Hospital Corporation Board. Richard was elected to the Trigg County Fiscal Court as magistrate in 2010 and served until 2014. He’s an active member of Buck Run Baptist Church in Frankfort.

Richard’s previous employment includes: Field biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Jamestown, ND; Research Assistant in the Wisconsin State Capitol; Policy Analyst for Family Research Institute of Wisconsin; Field Representative and Policy Analyst with the Family Foundation. He graduated with a triple major BS in biology, wildlife management and resource management from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1992 and earned a Master of Arts in public policy from Regent University in 1995.

He is certified by the Wildlife Society as a wildlife biologist and certified by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction as a secondary education teacher in environmental science.

Richard is an outdoors enthusiast and formerly ran an award-winning taxidermy studio in Cadiz, KY. In his free time, he enjoys hunting, fishing and camping. Father of three girls and a boy, he resides in Franklin County with his wife Bobby Jo on Dry Ridge Farm.

Jenny Bennett is the Administrative Assistant of the Commonwealth Policy Center.  She graduated with a BS in Graphic Communications Management from Murray State University in 2003. 

Jenny resides in Lawrenceburg, KY with her husband Jonathan and two children, Bree and Owen Bennett. Outside of work, her favorite way to spend her time is drinking coffee, spending time with her her family and church, developing her skill in photography, and learning American Sign Language.

Christopher Parr is Director of Research for the Commonwealth Policy Center. He is a ThM student in Historical and Theological Studies at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and he holds an MDiv from SBTS and a BS in Humanities from Boyce College. Christopher previously interned for The Witherspoon Institute and was a 2022 Shaftesbury Fellow at the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy.

When he isn’t reading about history and political theory, Christopher enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing tennis, and traveling to new and familiar places. Christopher lives in Louisville, where he and his wife Kara Beth are members of Third Avenue Baptist Church.

Jacob is an intern for the Commonwealth Policy Center and is pursuing degrees at Boyce College and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Alongside his work at CPC, he serves in the President’s Office at Southern Seminary and has previously interned with members of both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.

Outside of his work and studies, Jacob enjoys reading, writing, and playing the banjo. He lives in Louisville and is a member of Kosmosdale Baptist Church.