Dedicated Leadership and Expanded Engagement Will Increase Opportunities for NAF Student and Advance the Organization’s Vision for the Future
November 14, 2017 (New York, NY) – NAF is pleased to announce the appointment of Thomas Penny to its Board of Directors. A DC area native, Penny has over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry. He joins a team of corporate, education, and community leaders, dedicated to ensuring that high school students are college, career, and future ready.
Penny was appointed President of Donohoe Hospitality Services on June 1, 2017, after 21 years with the company, and having previously served as General Manager of the Courtyard Marriott Convention Center in DC since May 2008. Penny’s leadership enabled the hotel to continue optimizing revenue through times of economic change. Between January 2014 and December 2016, Penny also served as Chair of the Board of the Hotel Association of Washington, DC.
In addition to being a founding Board member of DC’s Hospitality High School, Penny is the Co-Chair of the DC NAF Hospitality Executive Advisory Board, a body of hospitality executives charged with exposing high school students to the hospitality business from operations to ownership. Today, there are hospitality academies at Columbia Heights Education Campus (CHEC), Wilson High School, Ballou High School and Maya Angelou Public Charter High School. Penny also serves as Co-Chair of the DC CAN (Career Academy Network) where he works with private sector and government leaders to ensure DC students receive a rigorous academy curriculum, meaningful internships, and exposure to industry leaders and mentors. Penny also serves on the DC Public Education Fund Board of DC Public Schools, as well as the Mayor’s Workforce Investment Council (WIC).
NAF President, JD Hoye, said, “We are so pleased to welcome Thomas to NAF’s Board of Directors. For years, he has made such a difference in the lives of so many NAF students by providing access to scholarships, work-based learning, and internship opportunities — working tirelessly to improve outcomes for young people. We look forward to the amplified engagement and contributions that will continue to positively impact our future leaders.”
Penny’s leadership will help expand NAF’s commitment to connecting students and the organization to leaders in the fields who will bring a strong personal commitment to developing the leaders of tomorrow and are also leading their businesses to do the same.
“It is an honor to join the NAF Board. I’ve been proud to work with NAF very closely over the years to create opportunities to ensure that the next generation – today’s high school students – are future ready,” Penny said. “I look forward to taking corporate engagement to the next level and to developing opportunities with the Board to place more young people on their paths to success.”
###
About NAF:
NAF is a national network of education, business, and community leaders who work together to ensure that high school students are college, career, and future ready.
NAF works with high need communities to transform the high school experience through an educational design that includes industry-specific curricula, work-based learning experiences, and relationships with business professionals, culminating in a paid internship. NAF academies fit within and enhance school systems, allowing NAF to become an integral part of a plan for higher achievement at a low cost. NAF academies focus on one of five career themes: finance, hospitality & tourism, information technology, engineering, and health sciences. During the 2016-17 school year, more than 96,000 students attended 675 NAF academies across 36 states, including D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 2016, NAF academies reported 96% of seniors graduated with 92% of graduates with post-secondary intentions. For more information, please visit: https://naf.org.