New Director of U.S. International Religious Freedom-The Associated Press

-The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - James Standish, a former legislative affairs official with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, has been named executive director of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Standish, whose appointment was announced Aug. 20, succeeds Joseph R. Crapa, who died last fall. The commission is an independent, bipartisan federal agency that advises the president and Congress on religious freedom issues worldwide.

Standish worked for seven years as director of legislative affairs at the Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters, representing the denomination on Capitol Hill and on country visits around the world.

Standish received his bachelor’s degree from Newbold College in England, his master’s degree in business administration from the University of Virginia and his law degree from Georgetown University.