About President Kress
Anne M. Kress, Ph.D.
President of Northern Virginia Community College, an institution serving over 70,000 students across six campuses, Dr. Anne M. Kress focuses on fulfilling the college’s mission to provide equitable access to affordable and exceptional higher education, transforming the lives of NOVA students and advancing opportunity in the region.
She serves on the boards of the American Council on Education, the Global Community College Leadership Network, Leadership Greater Washington, Generation Hope, Capital Area Food Bank, Northern Virginia Chamber, Northern Virginia Technology Council, GO Virginia-Region 7, and the Consortium of the Universities of the Washington Metro Area. In addition, she is a member of the Greater Washington Board of Trade and the Economic Club of DC. Drawing from three decades of higher education experience, Kress has testified before Congress on community colleges and workforce development and served as a negotiator on federal higher education regulations.
Kress has been named to the Virginia Business 500 and Washington Business Journal Power 100 and been recognized by the Washington Business Journal as a “Woman Who Means Business.” Kress was recently honored by the Higher Learning Advocates for widening the path to educational opportunity and has received awards from the Virginia Community College System, Phi Theta Kappa, the American Association of University Women, and her alma mater, the University of Florida, among others.
Kress earned two bachelor’s degrees, in Finance and English; a master’s degree in English; and a doctorate in Higher Education Administration—all from the University of Florida. She began her career in community colleges as an English faculty member and has also served as an adjunct graduate faculty member in higher education administration. She is married to Ned Davis, and they have two children in college.
