The Rev’d Canon Clayton McCleskey is a native Texan who grew up Methodist and embraces a Wesleyan passion for God’s free grace and faith as a matter of both head and heart. He came to the Episcopal Church in college, drawn by the beauty of the Anglican choral and liturgical tradition.

Appointed to Old North in 2026 as non-stipendiary Assisting Clergy, he serves full-time as Canon for Communications, Witness, and Engagement for the Diocese of Massachusetts. Prior to joining Bishop Whitworth’s executive team, he was Director of Engagement and External Relations for the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership. A former Fulbright Journalism Scholar, Clayton began his career as a foreign correspondent for The Dallas Morning News, reporting from over a dozen countries. In 2013, he joined the U.S. Department of State and served in multiple governmental roles, including United Kingdom Director in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and Spokesperson for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Canon McCleskey holds a MSc in History from the London School of Economics and a BA in International Affairs and German from George Washington University. He will graduate with an MDiv from The General Theological Seminary in May. He was ordained to the transitional diaconate by Bishop Mariann Budde in Washington, with ordination to the priesthood anticipated in summer 2026. Most recently he has served as seminarian and deacon at the Parish of the Epiphany in Winchester, Mass.

He and his husband, Jonathan Ortloff, a pipe organ builder and organist, live in Boston’s South End with their Golden Retriever and Shetland Sheepdog. They share a love of sacred music, history, and spending time as at their cabin in Lake Placid.