President of Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), Anne M. Kress focuses on fulfilling the college’s promise that every student succeeds, every program achieves, and every community prospers.

Kress sits on the boards of the American Association of Community Colleges, American Council on Education, Task Force on Higher Education and Opportunity, and Generation Hope. In the DC region, she serves on the boards of the Consortium of the Universities of the Washington Metro Area, the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the Northern Virginia Technology Council, and ConnectedDMV’s Regional Economic Development Strategy. Kress has testified before Congress on community colleges and workforce development and served as a negotiator on federal higher education regulations. 

She co-chaired the Virginia Community College System’s Opportunity 2027, a strategic plan with a goal of achieving equity in student outcomes—receiving the Dana B. Hamel Award, the highest honor the system bestows, for her work. Kress has been named to the Virginia Business 500 and Washington Business Journal Power 100, and honored by Phi Theta Kappa, the New York State Senate, YWCA, AAUW, and her alma mater, among others. 

Prior to joining NOVA, she was president of Monroe Community College (NY) and provost of Santa Fe College (FL). 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.