Early Life and Career
Gray is a native of Washington, DC, and graduated from Dunbar High School. He earned a B.A. in psychology at George Washington University, where he also took graduate courses. Gray was one of the first African Americans to join the Jewish fraternity, Tau Epsilon Phi. While in the fraternity, he was the first to serve two consecutive terms as President. Other school activities included the Newman Catholic Center, as well as football and basketball intramurals. Gray is also an avid participant in hand dancing, a D.C.-area derivative of Lindy hop.
Gray began his political career with the D.C. Association for Retarded Citizens, where he successfully advocated for innovative public policy initiatives on behalf of people with mental retardation. In 1991, then Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly appointed Gray to the post of Director of the DC Department of Human Services.
Gray became the founding executive director of Covenant House Washington in December 1994. Over a decade, Gray grew the agency from a van outreach program to a multisite agency serving homeless youth in the city's Southeast and Northeast communities.
Read more about this topic: Vincent C. Gray
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