Meet the candidate
For more than three decades in Washington DC, Gloria Ann Nauden has been a respected leader at the intersection of culture, commerce, and community. She has served on community boards, held both elected and mayoral-appointed roles, and works across banking, finance, philanthropy, and the arts. Her vision has never wavered: build thriving neighborhoods, expand economic opportunity, and center the voices of the people she serves.
As a homeowner living on the Capitol Hill side of H Street, NE, Gloria has always been a civically engaged neighbor. As a single mother of two daughters attending both DC Public Schools and DC public charter schools, she brings a parent’s perspective and commitment to building a safer, more responsive Ward 6.
Rooted in a family legacy of service and hard work, Gloria is the daughter of a decorated African American U.S. Army veteran and a Korean mother who together built nearly a dozen small businesses and employed hundreds of workers in DC and Virginia. As an only child of enterprising parents she grew up pitching in wherever she was needed. In the restaurants she helped the bands set up, flipped burgers, waited tables, and washed dishes. At the car wash, she scrubbed tires, vacuumed cars, cleaned windows, and greeted customers at the register with pride. With both parents laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, she carries their legacy forward. Their example drives her belief that strong families, strong work ethics, and strong small businesses are the foundation of a more prosperous culture.
Gloria’s dynamic career is grounded in common-sense, pragmatic solutions shaped by the lived experiences of DC residents and small businesses. She moves with urgency and a can-do, get-things-done mindset — known for translating big ideas into tactical execution that delivers results. With a rare balance of big picture institutional experience and trusted grass roots community relationships, she has built collaborations that address complex community and economic challenges, elevating voices often ignored. She unites partners to expand opportunity, strengthen communities, and achieve outcomes.
As a public servant, community economic development strategist, and creative executive who loves DC, Gloria brings people together and moves with passion, focus and expertise. With a proven record of innovative leadership and hands-on execution, she brings a level of capability and practical know-how that Ward 6 stakeholders — and the DC Council — urgently need.
Background
Gloria began her career at Black Entertainment Television (NYSE: BET Holdings) during its historic startup years, serving as the marketing director in the Office of the Chairman, Strategic Business Development Group, charged with launching key growth initiatives BET.com, and BET Soundstage. Prior to that she was the Corporate Affairs liaison for the co-founder, working her way up from being the executive assistant to the President.
Her passion for civic and community engagement drove her to public service as an appointee in District of Columbia government, leading the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Gloria was able to help raise the profile of Washington as a multi-cultural arts epicenter, while advancing the mission of the $14MM grant making agency, implementing strategies that expanded funding access to the arts by 77%; and is responsible for creating Art all Night and Art202, which has circulated millions of dollars in DC.
Gloria currently serves as interim CEO at Philanthropy DMV, formerly Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers, while maintaining her award-winning place-based community economic development solutions nonprofit, DC Community Development Consortium Institute (DCCDC.org), successfully channeling capital and resources to underfunded businesses in neighboring Wards 7 and 8. Inspired by her work in the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) banking industry where she served as the Vice President of Marketing & Corporate Communications at City First Bank (publicly trading as Broadway Financial, NASDAQ: BYFC). City First is a preeminent national Community Development Financial Institution in the nation. Gloria developed and elevated its distinct brand position and worked to establish City First as the first Certified B Corp bank in the U.S.
Gloria has volunteered as a grant reviewer for Spur Local (formerly Catalogue for Philanthropy), The Greater Washington Community Foundation; and member of Leadership Greater Washington’s board nominating committee. Gloria serves on the community boards of VIVA! Dance School, Capitalbop.com and Words, Beats & Life. She’s also a member of 100 Black Women of DC, Women of Color in Community Development, and Leadership Greater Washington, 25th Class. Gloria also served as an elected official representing the Capitol Hill Side of H Street, ANC6A-02.