Vernon serves as the Chief Operating Officer for the Washington Literacy Center. He brings more than 30 years in private sector leadership to the non-profit organization. He has far-reaching experience in contracting, procurement, supply-chain, and facilities management with a focus on operational efficiencies and the development of exceptional high-performing teams.

In his role with the Washington Literacy Center, he is responsible for creating business strategies and overseeing day-to-day business operations. He is keenly focused on stability and growth for the service lines of the organization with a concentration on operational excellence within three key areas:
• Evidence-based best practice programs and systems,
• Hiring and maintaining qualified staff, consultants, and dedicated volunteers, and
• Planning, deploying, and maintaining IT systems and operations.

He is dedicated to supporting the CEO in the implementation of the CEO’s vision and initiatives across the Washington Literacy Center.
Before joining the Washington Literacy Center in 2021, he served as a consultant to the organization in the areas of contracting and policy development. Additionally, over the past 25 years, he managed contracts, procurements, and facilities teams for multi-billion-dollar government contractors, including Peraton, Inc., a national security solutions and technologies provider, and CDM Federal Programs, an environmental, engineering, and construction corporation.

Vernon holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Bachelor’s in Information Systems from Tulane University.