“The Boy Next Door” with Carolyn Staley

Celebrate President Bill Clinton's 79th birthday on Tuesday, August 19, at 6 p.m. with Carolyn Staley and Janis F. Kearney as they discuss Staley's new book, "The Boy Next Door." She reflects on her remarkable 60-year friendship with President Bill Clinton and shares stories from her time working in the Clinton administration.

Staley will discuss her decades-long friendship with President Clinton, beginning as neighbors and classmates in high school and continuing through years of near-constant correspondence during his time as governor and president. She’ll also offer a personal glimpse into their shared love of music and the moments — both ordinary and extraordinary — that continue to define a lifelong connection.

The program will be available on our YouTube channel the following day.

BOOK: Staley will sign copies of "The Boy Next Door" following the program. Click here to purchase your copy from the Clinton Museum Store, available for pick up at the event or post-event delivery.

Clinton Presidential Center Presents is a partnership between the Clinton Foundation, Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas, and Clinton Presidential Library.

ASL interpretation is available during our events.

Carolyn Staley is a public servant, pastor, musician, and writer. She has led both federal and state government agencies, both under the Clinton administration as well as around Arkansas. She chaired the Inaugural Dedication services for Governor Bill Clinton in 1987 and 1990, as well as the 1992 inaugural prayer service for President Bill Clinton. From 1994-2004, she worked with President Clinton as Deputy Director of the National Institute for Literacy in Washington, D.C. She served as the Director of the Governor’s Commission on Adult Literacy, Director of State Services for the Arkansas Arts Center, and Director of the Arkansas Arts Council. She ran for AR State Representative in 2010.

Carolyn has served as Minister of Music for churches in Indiana, Virginia, and Arkansas. She began church ministry in high school as children’s choir director and as youth director. She was a soloist for the Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago. She served as organist and pianist for churches. She has been a soloist for Jewish congregations for 30 years.

She has written a memoir about her friendship of 64 years with Bill Clinton that will be published in 2025. She contributed to the book "When God Whispered My Name: Stories of Journey, told by Baptist women in Ministry," published in 2021. In 2007, her article A Reflection on Boris Yeltsin, Bill Clinton & Religious Liberty was published in Time magazine, Report on the Capital, Washington, D.C., and reprinted in newspapers nationally. She has written other articles and hundreds of sermons.

With a special interest in the Mississippi Delta region, she has led work in Helena for several years. Her literacy work took her to Africa, where she traveled 3 summers to Zambia, Angola, and South Africa to begin literacy programs for HIV/AIDS and general education. She also worked in India and in Venezuela.

Carolyn is married to Jerry Staley, an architectural photographer. They are the parents of three young adults and five grandchildren.

Janis F. Kearney is an author, book publisher, writing instructor, and literary coach. She was born to southeast Arkansas cotton sharecroppers, attended Gould Public Schools, and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a B.A. in Journalism. She served nine years as a project manager and public affairs director in the Arkansas state government. She served briefly as managing editor for civil rights legend Daisy L. Gatson Bates’ historic Arkansas State Press Newspaper, before purchasing and becoming publisher of the newspaper in 1988, upon Bates’ retirement.

From 1993-2001, Janis served in the Clinton Administration, working briefly in the White House media affairs office before being appointed by President Clinton as Director of Communications for the U.S. Small Business Administration. In 1995, she was selected by President Clinton as the first-ever Personal Diarist to a President. She served in that role through June 2001.

In July 2001, Janis was selected as a fellow at the W.E.B. DuBois Institute of African and African American Studies at Harvard University and continued the fellowship for two years. In 2003, Janis and her husband founded Writing Our World Publishing, a small, independent publishing company. She has written or co-written 17 books, including her first, the critically acclaimed "Cotton Field of Dreams: A Memoir."

In 2014, Janis founded the Celebrate! Maya Project. Its mission is to promote the life and legacy of Dr. Angelou through service to Arkansas’ communities and schools. She also founded the Read.Write.Share Writers Conference, which includes memoir-writing seminars, lectures, and workshops around the state. The Writers Weekend is held in Arkansas each year.

Janis is married to Bob J. Nash, former Director of Presidential Personnel for the Clinton White House. They reside in Little Rock. They have a blended family of three children, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Host or Publisher Clinton Presidential Center