Chris V. Rey was born in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands but spent his formidable years in Spring Lake, North Carolina. He graduated High School as a track and field All-American and attended East Carolina University on a full athletic scholarship. As a student leader, he was known for taking the initiative of addressing racial inequality on campus. He was often recognized by university leaders for working to make the campus a more open and diverse epicenter of learning. He was a charter member of the Black Student Union and the NAACP chapter on campus.
President Rey enlisted into the U.S. Army as a computer information technology analyst. After two short years, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Signal Corps through the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School. Thereafter, he saw deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. His service and leadership in the armed forces earned him numerous military awards and accolades including the Bronze Star, and the Meritorious Service Medal. In 2022 Rey retired after 22 years of combined active and national guard service.
In 2007 Rey began studies at William & Mary School of Law, the nation’s oldest law school. Upon graduation he worked for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) writing cyber security policy for the nation to help address the global threat of cyber-attacks on America.
In 2008 Rey was elected as the youngest member of the Virginia Delegation to the United States Electoral College, where he officially cast the ballot to elect the President and Vice President of the United States. In 2011, Rey was the youngest person ever elected to serve as Mayor of Spring Lake, North Carolina’s where he served three terms.
In 2021 he was elected the 36th International President of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., one of the nation’s oldest historically black fraternities where under his leadership he is overseeing a multi-million-dollar affordable housing apartment building development project in Washington, DC.
In 2023 he was tapped by the Board of Trustees of Barber-Scotia College as the 20th President to lead the resurgence of one of America’s oldest Historical Black Colleges.
President Rey holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a minor in Information Systems from Walden University, and a Juris Doctor Degree from William & Mary School of Law. President Rey is also a graduate of the University of Virginia Sorenson Institute for Political Leadership, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government Advance Leadership Corp. He currently serves on the Board of Trusties for Charisma University located in the Turks & Caicos Islands, Board of Visitors for Fayetteville State University, and the Alumni Association Board of Directors for William & Mary University.
President Rey is married to his childhood sweetheart Chrystal and they have nine children.