Luis Clemente is originally from Puerto Rico, where he earned his BA in Social Science (1997) and a Masters in Public Administration (2000) at the University of Puerto Rico - Río Piedras. He also earned his MA in Political Science at the New School for Social Research in New York City in 2002, and his Ph.D. in Political Science at the State University of New York at Albany in 2009.

Dr. Clemente's main area of research is in Latin American politics, with special interest in its political parties and party systems. His doctoral dissertation hypothesizes that the institutionalization of party systems in Latin America is a product of interconnections between factors such as political culture, political cleavages, the effects of economic shocks, and others as they constitute not only a context for party interactions, but also reasons for their legitimacy. He has presented papers on Latin American and comparative politics in forums such as the annual meetings of the Midwest Political Science Association and the Western Political Science Association, as well as a poster submission on political theory at the 2003 meeting of the American Political Science Association. Dr. Clemente has taught courses in Latin American politics, international relations, comparative politics, and political science at SUNY Albany, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, and Clarkson University (Potsdam, NY).

Dr. Clemente has served as electoral board official in Puerto Rico between 1992 and 1998 and again in 2005, and was also contributor to the American Democracy Project Committee of East Stroudsburg University. He is also part of the teaching faculty at the Latin American Studies Graduate Program.