Zachary Parker

Zachary Parker
Zachary Parker
Member for the Council of the District of Columbia; from Ward 5
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; January 2, 2023
Preceded by	Kenyan McDuffie
Personal details
Born	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	Northwestern University (BA); Columbia University (MEd)
Website	Campaign website

Zachary Parker is an educator and American politician, currently serving as a member of the Council of the District of Columbia, representing Ward 5 since January 2023.^[1]

Early life and education

Parker was born in Chicago.^[2] He received a BS in Speech and Language Pathology from Northwestern University and a MA in Education Policy and Leadership from Columbia University.^[2]

Career

Parker worked as a math teacher with Teach for America and won his first election to the State Board of Education Ward 5 seat in 2018.^[2] In 2021, Parker served as president of the State Board of Education.^[2]

Council of the District of Columbia

Parker was elected to the Council of the District of Columbia during the 2022 election cycle, besting a field of six other candidates which included former councilman Vincent Orange.^[3] Parker eventually succeeded Kenyan McDuffie, who was elected to the At-Large council seat.^[4] In 2025 Parker was assigned to serve as the Chair of the Committee on Youth Affairs.^[5]

Personal life

In 2022, Parker came out publicly as gay (in his video statement, he suggested that this was already fairly well known within his community).^[6]

References

^ Weil, Julie (June 23, 2022). "A reshaped D.C. Council will take on education, policing, elections". Washington Post. Washington DC. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Weil, Julie (August 31, 2021). "Board of Education president plans run for D.C. Council". Washington Post. Washington DC. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
^ "Incumbents Win Their D.C. Primaries, Progressives Clinch Open Races". DCist. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
^ Riley, John (November 9, 2022). "D.C. Elects Gay Councilmember Amid Pro-LGBTQ Wave". Metro Weekly. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
^ Council of the District of Columbia https://dccouncil.gov/committees/committee-on-youth-affairs/. Retrieved January 29, 2025. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ Parker, Zachary (March 30, 2022). "Unapologetically me. 🖤". twitter.com.

External links

Council of the District of Columbia
Preceded by Kenyan McDuffie	Member of the Council of the District of Columbia from Ward 5 2023–present	Incumbent

[wp.220623-1] Weil, Julie (June 23, 2022). "A reshaped D.C. Council will take on education, policing, elections". Washington Post. Washington DC. Retrieved October 21, 2022.

[wp.210831-2] Weil, Julie (August 31, 2021). "Board of Education president plans run for D.C. Council". Washington Post. Washington DC. Retrieved October 21, 2022.

[3] "Incumbents Win Their D.C. Primaries, Progressives Clinch Open Races". DCist. Retrieved June 9, 2024.

[4] Riley, John (November 9, 2022). "D.C. Elects Gay Councilmember Amid Pro-LGBTQ Wave". Metro Weekly. Retrieved June 9, 2024.

[5] Council of the District of Columbia https://dccouncil.gov/committees/committee-on-youth-affairs/. Retrieved January 29, 2025. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[6] Parker, Zachary (March 30, 2022). "Unapologetically me. 🖤". twitter.com.

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