Education 2025: KRESS, ANNE M.

After starting her post-secondary education career as a faculty member teaching English, Kress now presides over Virginia’s largest community college — and one of the nation’s largest — with more than 70,000 students across six campuses, including NOVA’s Medical Education Campus in Springfield. This year, NOVA opened its new data center operations training center in Woodbridge, supported by a $5 million federal grant, and broke ground on the college’s first skilled trades center in Manassas.

In October 2024, however, Kress received an overwhelming “no confidence” vote from college faculty who claim she has harmed students by removing athletic programs, ignoring staff input and reducing summer class offerings. In a statement, Kress said she’s “committed to fully informed, open and honest communications.”

Her tenure at NVCC began in 2020 following a nearly 30-year career including posts as provost at Santa Fe University and president of Monroe Community College in Florida.

WHAT PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT ME: My husband and I are avid concertgoers. We’ve seen artists ranging from Devo to Max Richter to the Wu-Tang Clan to Alison Krauss and Union Station, and have tickets for Beyoncé, Big Thief and Haim.

Return to the full list of this category’s recipients.