Ralph McCloud

Director of the Catholic Campaign

Ralph McCloud served for sixteen years as the Director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), an anti-poverty program of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington DC.

CCHD is the domestic anti-poverty program of the U.S. Catholic Bishops.  CCHD works to break the cycle of poverty by helping low-income people participate in decisions that affect their lives, families and communities.  It has a complementary mission of educating on poverty and its causes. This dual pastoral strategy of education for justice and helping people who are poor speak and act for themselves reflects the mandate of the Scriptures and the principles of Catholic social teaching. Ralph has served as the national director for sisteen years.

Prior to working the USCCB, Ralph worked as Division Director of Pastoral and Community Services in the Diocese of Fort Worth Texas. In this capacity he supervised the Departments of Family Life, Peace and Justice, African-American Ministry, Ministry to the Incarcerated, Ministry to People with Disabilities, Hospital Ministry and Hispanic Ministry.

He has served as President of the National Association of Black Catholic Administrators and as a board member of both the National Black Catholic Congress and the Roundtable Association of Social Action Directors. He has served on the boards of the Center for Migration Services of New York and Chair of the Catholic Mobilizing Network.

Civically, Ralph served 4 terms on the Fort Worth City Council from 1997 – 2005 and 3 terms as Mayor Pro Tempore. He chaired the County Homeless Commission and was named Tarrant County’s First Racial Reconciliation Award Winner by the Tarrant County Community of Churches.

He is also the recipient of the State of Texas Courage Award from the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

In 2009, he was awarded the History Maker Award from the Archdiocese of Atlanta in 2009 and Catholic Charities USA’s Martin Luther King Keep the Dream Alive Award in 2010. In 2017, Ralph was awarded the Bishop John Joseph Keane Medallion from the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies from the Catholic University of America.  He is currently on the Leadership Group for the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University.

Ralph is a member of St. Teresa of Avila Parish in Washington DC where he serves on the Finance Council and is a lector.