A native Washingtonian, Vincent C. Gray hastirelessly advocated for the residents of the District of Columbia for morethan 50 years. His dedication tochildren and their families has been the hallmark of his service in both citygovernment and the non-profit sector. His lifetime of public service to theDistrict can be best summed up by a singular governing philosophy—that theDistrict of Columbia works best as “One City.”

On November 8, 2016, Vincent C. Gray was elected to represent Ward 7 on the Council ofthe District of Columbia. He wasreelected in 2020.

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Previously, Gray served from 2011-2015 asthe sixth elected Mayor of the District of Columbia. He ran for office on a platform of restoringfiscal responsibility to city government, creating jobs and boosting economicdevelopment, providing a quality public education to all District children, andbuilding safe communities. Throughout his four years in office, Mayor Grayaggressively moved the District forward toward his vision of a more prosperous,equitable, safe, and sustainable city for all.

Gray’s dedication to his community inspiredhis first successful campaign for elected office.In 2004, he handily defeatedthe incumbent Ward 7 Councilmember. . During Gray’s first term as Councilmemberfrom Ward 7, he chaired a Special Committee on the Prevention of Youth Violenceand created the Effi Barry HIV/AIDS Initiative. Two years after joining theCouncil, Gray ran citywide for the office of Chairman of the Council. Runningon the theme of “One City,” he continued his focus on uniting the diverseracial and economic groups in his hometown. He won the general election with 98percent of the vote.

As Council Chairman, Gray was a leader inefforts to improve the Council’s operations, transparency and oversightcapacity, and was a true champion for school reform. He spearheaded the Pre-KExpansion and Enhancement Act, which established a high-quality early childhoodeducation program to provide 2,000 new classroom slots for three-andfour-year-olds over six years. Gray’s diligence resulted in that goal being metin September of 2010, well before the 2014 target.

Gray began his professional career with theArc of DC (then known as the Association for Retarded Citizens). At the Arc, hesuccessfully advocated for innovative policy initiatives on behalf of peoplewith developmental disabilities and spearheaded the closure of the District-runForest Haven institution for people with mental retardation, after it wasexposed for poor conditions and abuse of residents. In 1991, then-Mayor SharonPratt Kelly appointed Gray to the post of Director of the Department of Human Services.As Director, he oversaw the functions of a 7,000-person department and directedactivities related to Public Health, Social Services, Mental Health Servicesand Health Care Finance. In December 1994, he became the founding ExecutiveDirector of Covenant House Washington, an international, faith-basedorganization dedicated to serving homeless and at-risk youth.

Despite being scouted in high school by twoMajor League Baseball teams, Gray chose to pursue higher education, studyingclinical psychology at The George Washington University at both theundergraduate and graduate school levels. While at GW, he became the firstAfrican-American admitted to the GW fraternity system, and in his junior andsenior years, became the first person to serve consecutive terms as Chancellorof Tau Epsilon Phi. In 2024, GW awarded Gray an honorary PhD in Public Service.

Gray resides in the Hillcrest neighborhood of Ward7.. He has two children, Jonice Gray and Vincent Carlos Gray, by his late wife,Loretta, who was an outstanding educator in the DC Public Schools system, andtwo grandchildren. He is currently married to Dr. Dawn Kum, an educator andfounder of a therapeutic school for students with emotional disabilities.