William Gray Biography

Additionally, Gray collaborates with the firm's management on the crucial client and customer relationship issues, such as diversity. Gray held the position of chairman of The Amani Group LLC before joining Buchanan Ingersoll. He served as president and CEO of The College Fund/UNCF from September 1991 to June 2004. Under his leadership, the organization set new fundraising records. Before that, from 1979 to 1991, he served as a congressman for Pennsylvania's Second District. In 1985, he was elected to lead the House of Representatives Budget Committee. Gray was the highest-ranking African American to ever serve in Congress when he served as the chairman of the Democratic Caucus and as the majority whip of the House in 1989. As the primary author of the 1985 and 1986 sanctions measures in the House of Representatives, he was instrumental in the implementation of economic sanctions against South Africa during his time in office. Gray served as the principal negotiator in budget talks between Congress and the Reagan administration for four years while serving as chairman of the Budget Committee. From May to September 1994, Gray also worked as the president's special advisor in Haiti. In that capacity, he helped the president create and implement a plan to bring democracy back to Haiti. He was awarded the Medal of Honor by Jean-Bertrand Aristide of Haiti in 1995. Gray has a diverse educational background and has taught history and theology at Temple University, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Montclair State College, Jersey City State College, and St. Peter's College. He is not a lawyer. A lengthy succession of ministers before Gray. As a result, much like his father and grandfather before him, he has been the pastor of the Bright Hope Baptist Church in Philadelphia for more than 33 years. Since 1964, he has served in the ministry. Gray is active in several organizations and is on the boards of directors for Dell Inc., JPMorgan Chase, Pfizer, Prudential Financial, and the Visteon Corporations, among others. He also serves on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council and served as vice chairman of the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care. Gray, who graduated with a BA from Franklin & Marshall College in 1963, currently holds the position of trustee at his alma institution. In 1970, he graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary with a master's in theology and Drew Theological Seminary with a master's in divinity. Throughout his career, he has received several honors, including the coveted Franklin Delano Roosevelt Freedom of Worship Medal. He was also featured as one of the "100 Most Important Blacks in the 20th Century" in Ebony magazine. From the top colleges and institutions in the US, Gray has received more than 70 honorary degrees.

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