Tony (aka kwame) Laing was born on September 9, 1973 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the youngest of 8 siblings. Presently, Tony works in the field of higher education administration and has held key staff positions of responsibility at New York University, The New School, Massachusetts College of Arts and at Citizens for Better Schools, located in New Jersey.
Tony grew up in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, where he and his siblings joined thousands of other children in the voluntary school busing program of the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (Metco). A sometimes controversial program, Metco has been taking inner-city students out of Boston's predominantly minority schools and to suburban schools since 1966. For Tony, heading out 22 miles to Concord every weekday, it was one of his first lessons in diversity.
"I had to get up at 5 a.m. to get to Concord-Carlisle High School," Laing said. "It got better as time went by. In fact, it helped me as I made the transition to college; it exposed me to other cultures, and forced me to learn how to defend my ideas."
Tony was also an active high school student; involved in student government, several clubs, drama, the Credit Review Board and track, where he lettered and earned state honors. He also served on the Metco Council, where he met regularly with other students to discuss common issues and form supportive bonds.
Tony attended Wheaton College in Norton, MA. There, he was active in student clubs such as the Black Student’s Association and served as a class officer. He also studied abroad during his junior year (at The University of Ghana- Legon) and graduated in 1996 with the degree of comparative political science. One year following graduation from Wheaton, he traveled to Africa to conduct independent research on life after apartheid.
In 2000, Tony obtained an MPA degree from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School (While at NYU/ Wagner, he traveled a third time to Africa to conduct fact-finding studies for a for-profit) and in 2006, Wheaton College later awarded him the Young Alumnae/i Achievement award, for service to the college and advancement in career attainment. Tony was also nominated twice for prestigious Fulbright Teacher and Administrator Exchange Program and was awarded a Rotary Ambassadorial scholarship for post-baccalaureate studies in South Africa.
Presently, Tony serves on a number of professional organizations, including but not limited to the Young Professionals of Color Network of the Urban League – Boston Chapter, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People – Boston Chapter, National Academic Advising Association – NACADA; Alumnae/i Parent Admission Committee - Wheaton College and is also former Chair of the Board of Directors for the New York State Alliance for Domestic and International Educational Programs.
“I am blessed to have accomplished and to have experienced so much in my life thus far. I wonder what the future has in store for me. I only expect things to keep getting better!”