The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson serves as vice president of religion and senior pastor of Chautauqua Institution. He was elected Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire on June 7, 2003, becoming the first openly gay and partnered priest to be elected Bishop in historic Christendom. He served as IX Bishop of New Hampshire until his retirement in early 2013. A Senior Fellow at both the Center for American Progress and Auburn Seminary, Gene is a celebrated interfaith leader whose ministry has focused on helping congregations and clergy, especially in times of conflict, utilizing his skills in congregational dynamics, conflict resolution and mediation. He is the author of In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God (Morehouse, 2008) and God Believes in Love: Straight Talk about Gay Marriage (Knopf, 2012). In 2009, at the invitation of Barack Obama, Gene prayed the invocation at the Opening Inaugural Event at the Lincoln Memorial.