Anthony Blake was born in New York City, and received his primary education in Spanish Harlem. Anthony was later admitted into The Boys’ Club of New York’s (BCNY) and A Better Chance’s independent school placement programs, and attended middle school at a boarding school in New Jersey, and high school at a boarding school in Connecticut. Anthony later returned to NYC to obtain his Bachelor of Science degree from New York University’s Stern School of Business and his Master of Arts from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education. Understanding the importance of professional development, midway through his career he earned a Nonprofit Leadership Certificate from Fordham University’s Nonprofit Leaders Executive Education Program.
Anthony’s career spans 25+ years working to bridge the achievement gap helping underserved “inner-city” students (in the five boroughs), by providing guidance to families helping them to navigate their way through public/private schools and college. After spending a few years as an elementary school teacher in Bedford-Stuyvesant, he returned to BCNY where he placed 400+ students in over 70 independent day and boarding schools across the country, while securing over $10,0000,000 in scholarships. Anthony also assisted in coordinating trips for BCNY athletes, Trustees and staff to China, Cuba and Italy promoting “friendship and fairness through sports.” Upon leaving BCNY, he created Anthony Blake, LLC, an educational consulting firm, where he has worked with nonprofit start-ups, corporate executives, students and families seeking college placement guidance, college students transitioning into the workforce, and entry level professionals seeking to transition their careers.
During the past 12 years he has worked within the Department of Student Affairs at the City University of New York’s Kingsborough Community College (KCC) and Medgar Evers College. During his tenure, KCC was ranked one of the top 4 community colleges in the country (out of 936) by the Aspen Institute. At KCC, Anthony specialized in training student leaders, assisting first-generation college students, and conducting workshops to enhance individual students’ learning experiences. Lastly, Anthony is the proud father of an eight-year-old who spent 2 years at the Cornerstone Day Care Center as an inaugural 3 Pre-K student and Pre-K student. In his spare time Anthony loves to read, write, paint and listen to music.