Carolyn B. Rudd, Ed.D.

Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees

Dr. Carolyn B. RuddCarolyn B. Rudd, Ed.D., is the founder, president and CEO of CRP, Incorporated (CRP), a Washington, DC-based, multi-faceted professional services and management consulting firm established in 1988. Under the stewardship of Rudd, CRP has evolved into one of the leading small businesses in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, providing solutions in research, policy assessment and analysis, and program management and support services to federal agencies, the District of Columbia government, colleges and universities, and nonprofit organizations. CRP was recognized by the District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce as its “2017 Small Business of the Year” for its leadership in federal contracting in the District. In 2018, CRP was named one of the top 100 minority businesses in the DC metropolitan area.

A native of suburban Richmond, Virginia, Rudd received a bachelors and master’s degree from Virginia State University. Immediately upon obtaining her master’s degree, she matriculated at the College of William and Mary, the second oldest higher education institution in the United States. Rudd earned a doctorate degree in higher education and a minor in business before the age of 30 from William and Mary, and is believed to be the youngest African American to receive a doctorate from the institution.

Prior to starting CRP, Rudd served at three universities: 1) Virginia State University where she was director of a Job Corps Advanced Career Training Program, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, and later a faculty member in the School of Business; 2) Bowie State University as director of alumni affairs and executive director of the Bowie State University Foundation; and 3) Howard University as interim director of the Office of Satellite Communications and project director of a HIV/AIDS project funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Rudd has demonstrated an unswerving commitment to providing employment opportunities for graduates of the University of the District of Columbia: a significant number of CRP’s full-time staff attended UDC. She has led CRP’s efforts as a charitable partner in the DC community by making philanthropic contributions to Howard University’s Sickle Cell Center, Howard University Hospital, and the following nonprofits: the Urban Alliance; Bright Beginnings; Crittenton Services of Greater Washington; Family Matters; the YWCA of Washington, DC; the Humanities Council of Washington, DC; the POSSE Foundation; and the Washington Area Women’s Foundation. As national president of the National Epicureans, Inc., Rudd was instrumental in establishing and actively supports a nationally endowed scholarship in education at Virginia Union University. Dr. Rudd has served as chair of the DC Commission for Women (appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser) as well as on the boards of Family Matters of Greater Washington, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and Leadership Greater Washington. She is chair elect of the DC Chamber’s Board of Directors and Co-Chair of its Membership Committee. She is a life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Rudd is married and lives in Upper Northwest DC.