Zachary Parker

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.

Early life and education
Parker was born in Chicago. He received a BS in Speech and Language Pathology from Northwestern University and a MA in Education Policy and Leadership from Columbia University.

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. In 2021, Parker served as president of the State Board of Education.

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. Parker eventually succeeded Kenyan McDuffie, who was elected to the At-Large council seat.

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).