Speaker: Mr. Anthony Priest, COO

Company: Washington Education Zone, LLC

Seminar Title: An Alternative Path                  

Abstract of Talk: Demonstrating the adage that luck is when preparation meets opportunity, this is a career that began in engineering, migrated through education reform, real estate development, and teaching, to currently running a startup education incubator.

Biographical Sketch of the Speaker: Anthony Priest offers a unique perspective stemming from his diverse career in public education, education advocacy, real estate development, and technology. Currently the COO for the Washington Education Zone, Anthony is also an Adjunct Professor at The George Washington University teaching a course on Data Analytics in the CyberSecurity masters program. Prior to that he established the DC office for Genesis Works, a non-profit that trains high school students and secures IT internships for their senior year. As a Program Manager in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) division within Washington, D.C. Public Schools (DCPS), Anthony was the Regional Director for Project Lead The Way (PLTW), responsible for 14 schools, and recipient of a $2 million grant from Lockheed Martin to further his efforts. Anthony established the Computer Science program within DCPS, which, in 3 years he grew to 800 students at 10 schools in 5 different courses, one of which was CyberSecurity. Prior to being recruited to work in the CTE division, Anthony taught high school math and engineering for 3 years. Before transitioning to a career in the classroom, Anthony spent nine years as a commercial real estate developer, including managing the $150 million re-development of a downtown DC office building. Prior to that, he was the Director of High Performance Management at the National Center on Education and the Economy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing U.S. schools and their teachers with the tools and training they need to lead the world in education. He began his career at NCR, where he worked as a manufacturing engineer. Anthony graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelors of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, and a Masters of Science in Industrial Engineering. He earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the Harvard Business School and a Masters in Education from the University of Virginia. Anthony is extremely active in the community, having served on the Board of Trustees for Georgia Tech, President of the Georgia Tech DC Club, President and Chairman of the Harvard Business School Club of Washington, and is currently on the Board of the U.S. Chess Center. In addition, he has completed twelve marathons, multiple triathlons, and founded a non-profit organization, DC Robotics, whose aim is to further STEM education through support and establishment of robotics programs throughout Washington, DC