Anne M. Kress is the President of Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), which serves over 70,000 students across six campuses.

She is a passionate advocate for NOVA’s mission of providing equitable and affordable access to exceptional higher education and workforce programs, transforming the lives of students and advancing opportunity in the region. Kress serves on the boards of the American Council on Education, Generation Hope, Capital Area Food Bank, Northern Virginia Chamber, Northern Virginia Technology Council, and the Consortium of the Universities of the Washington Metro Area, among others.

Kress has testified before Congress on community colleges and workforce development and served as a negotiator on federal higher education regulations. She has been named to the Virginia Business 500 and Washington Business Journal Power 100; and been honored by organizations including the Virginia Community College System, Phi Theta Kappa, and her alma mater, the University of Florida.

Prior to moving into academic administration, Kress was a professor of English at Santa Fe College (Fla.). She has also taught graduate courses in higher education administration and serves on the community college leadership program advisory board for the University of Maryland Global Campus.

BACHELOR’S: B.A. in English and BSBW with honors in Finance, University of Florida

MASTER’S: M.A. in English, University of Florida

DOCTORATE: Ph.D., Higher Education Administration, University of Florida