Senior Program Associate, Strategic Communications, Outreach & Development  

Andre’ Wesson serves as the Senior Program Associate for Strategic Communications, Outreach & Development at Achieve. In this role, Mr. Wesson collaborates with senior level executives to advance Achieve’s advocacy and outreach, fundraising and development efforts.

Before joining Achieve, Mr. Wesson worked in higher education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill). There, he served as an Academic Advisor for the General College & College of Arts and Sciences. Primarily assisting students through the matriculation process, Mr. Wesson gained university-wide and national recognition for his efforts to assist, engage, and challenge students, both academically and personally. He received the prestigious “Mickel-Shaw Advisor-of-the-Year” Award (twice), and gained national recognition from the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) for his excellent contributions to the profession.

As a Teacher for the Governor's "More at Four" Pre-K program in Durham, North Carolina he supported and lead several programs that helped ensure socially and economically disadvantaged students were proficient in basic skills necessary to successfully transition into Kindergarten. During his time there, he noticed a lack of children's books and literature resources highlighting characters that mirrored his students' personal backgrounds/or cultural experiences. This epiphany prompted him to write a series of children's books and ultimately creating a publishing company focused on enhancing literacy rates and promoting positive identity development for minority youth, ages 3-10.

A firm believer in social justice, equity in education, and parental outreach, Mr. Wesson served as Chairman of the Town of Chapel Hill's Justice in Action Committee. Under his leadership, the committee was designed to adequately and effectively reflect the town’s commitment to preserving racial, social, educational, and economic justice for its citizens. He strategically forged relationships with and candidly engaged the public, local government, local school districts, media, and the town council around diverse issues of social justice and education.

Mr. Wesson graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2004, with a bachelor's in Journalism and Mass Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations.

Phone: (202) 745-2307