Anthony Woods

Anthony "Tony" Woods
Born	July 20, 1980 (1980-07-20) Fairfield, California
Alma mater	West Point Harvard University
Occupation	Former Consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton
Political party	Democratic

Anthony “Tony” Christopher Woods (born July 20, 1980) is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, who was discharged from the United States Army in 2008 for violating the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy. He subsequently ran for U.S. Congress in California's 10th congressional district to fill a vacant seat, in a bid to become the first openly-gay African American in Congress. He lost that bid, receiving 8% of a special election vote on September 1, 2009.

Early life

Born on July 20,1980 at Travis Air Force Base in the 10th Congressional District, Woods was raised by a single mother who supported her family as a small business owner and housekeeper. As a child, Woods lived in both Fairfield and Vacaville in the East Bay region of California. He graduated with honors from Vanden High School in 1999. Woods attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point after graduation, having received a nomination from Congressman Vic Fazio (D CA-3).

Military career (2003 – 2008)

Woods at West Point

While at West Point, he played sprint football in the fall and ran indoor and outdoor track in winter and spring.^{[citation needed]} He majored in economics and political science, and graduated in 2003. In addition to his double major, he completed an engineering concentration (minor) in computer science.

In his last two years at the Academy, he was a representative on the cadet honor committee and commander of summer training for the rising yearling (sophomore) class.^{[citation needed]}

Woods was commissioned in the Army as a second lieutenant in the Armor branch and began the Armor Officer Basic Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky in July 2003. While there, he volunteered^{[citation needed]} for his first deployment to Iraq to lead a platoon of National Guard soldiers. Woods deployed to the Diyala province of Iraq, where he served for eleven months.^{[citation needed]}

Woods returned from this deployment to the U.S. in January, 2005 and was transferred from Fort Bragg to Fort Carson, Colorado. Later that year, in June, 2005, he made his second deployment to Iraq with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.^{[citation needed]}

Woods on active service in Iraq

Upon return from his second deployment, the Army selected Woods to teach at West Point, an unusual appointment^{[citation needed]} for so junior an officer and one which would require him to earn a graduate degree first. He earned a place to study public policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

While at Harvard, Woods volunteered to mentor low-income minorities applying to college and numerous other community leadership activities, including co-founding the first student chapter of the Fuller Center for Housing, and making three trips to New Orleans to assist families struggling to rebuild following Hurricane Katrina. For this work, he was among a group of students awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Public Service Award.^{[citation needed]}

Woods helping in the recovery after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans

During the summer of 2007, Woods co-led a group of thirty cyclists across the U.S. to raise money for Habitat for Humanity through a non-profit group known as Bike & Build. The trip took them from the Outer Banks of North Carolina to San Diego, California. The group raised over $130,000 and built homes in five different states during the course of the trip across the United States.

Prior to graduation in 2008, Woods competed to speak at Harvard’s annual commencement and was one of three students chosen to give a commencement speech.

Shortly after graduation, Woods reported to Fort Knox, Kentucky for the Armor Captain's Career Course. Shortly thereafter, Woods outed himself as a homosexual, and was subsequently discharged under the government's “Don't ask, don't tell” policy. For this decision, Woods was ordered to reimburse the Army for the $35,000 tuition. In December 2008, the U.S. Army completed the discharge process for Woods.

2008 – 2009

Woods worked for the staff of Governor David Paterson of New York. It is unclear whether he started his work for Governor Paterson before or after his discharge of the Army. Following completion of his work in New York, Woods was hired as a senior economic and business analysis consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton.

2009 – Present

On March 18, 2009, Woods declared his intentions to replace Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), who was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Woods's bid to become the first openly gay African-American elected to Congress ended when he lost a special election held on September 1, 2009, receiving under 9 percent of the vote.

Woods is now based in Washington, D.C., works for the nonprofit, Be the Change, Inc. and works on the ServiceNation campaign.

External links

• Anthony Woods for Congress, Official Campaign Website